A Family Divided
by surferdude8225
Summary: Hey! Okay, so this is a new fic I thought up. What would happen if there was a case involving children? Where would they stay is their only parent was the murder victim? Could they bring Tony and Ziva together? Rater T because i can. R&R please and thanks
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! It's me again! So, here's this new fic I came up with about a month ago. I always thought Tony and Ziva would make good parents. What do you think? This is how I would see it. This doesn't have Will Scuito or little Kate Gibbs in it. It's a new thing, not a spin-off of Another Scuito in the Family (which should have a new chapter soon. I'm working on it, I promise!). Please read and review! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything else mentioned in here. I only own the story line. But I would like to thank CBS and Don Bellisario. We wouldn't have this without them!**

**Ziva's POV**

I cannot stop thinking about Paris. Sure, I had been there many times before, but this time Tony was there. That should not make much of a difference; we are co-workers, we are partners, we are friends, if not best friends. It was not my first time with a man there either.

While we were there, Tony was… different, for lack of a better word. Here, while we spend most of the time in the office apart, there we spent a great deal of time together. It was only on out second and final day there that he left me alone for two hours while he went to 'see the sights'. I did not mind though, I like hanging out with Tony.

I snap back to the real world after that last thought. It is Friday morning and I am sitting at my desk in the office. I am the first one here (as always at 0650) and the room is not bustling with people as it is during the day. A few minutes later, the elevator dings, and Gibbs walked into the room holding his ever-present cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Ziva," he said as he passed my desk.

"Good morning," I said pleasantly. I am usually in a good mood on Fridays.

It went back to being quiet as Gibbs is not much of a talker. The Bull Pen slowly filled around us; McGee came in ten minutes early with his customary cup of coffee and Tony came in five minutes late with a donut in a bag. Thankfully, Gibbs did not know Tony was late because he was up in MTAC.

"Good morning, Zee," he said cheerfully to me as he walked past my desk.

"Good morning, Tony. You are late," I said and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I know, I figured that out on my own, thanks. Where's our fearless leader?" he asked, looking over at Gibbs' empty desk.

"Up here, DiNozzo. You're late," Gibbs called down to him from the cat walk (which I still do not understand why it is called that as there are no cats in the navy Yard).

"Sorry, Boss," Tony said, not looking sorry at all.

"You will be. Grab your gear, we've got a dead Marine," Gibbs said as he came down the stairs. Tony, McGee, and I all grabbed our bags and met Gibbs at the elevator just as it arrived.

"Who found him?" Tony asked Gibbs once we were all in the car.

"His fourteen year old daughter and his six year old son," Gibbs told him as he drove, if at all possible, faster down the street.

When we got to the house, Gibbs started barking orders. "Ziva, go talk to the kids, McGee, pictures, DiNozzo, bag and tag," he yelled. Tony and McGee went off at once, but I did not move. "David, did you hear what I said?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, I did, but why did you not give this job to Tony? He is better with kids than I am," I told him.

"Rachel Shane is a fourteen year old girl, she came home with her little brother, Max, to find her father dead on the floor of her living room. The girl is scared out of her mind and my guess is that it would be easier to talk to a woman than a man, especially DiNozzo," he said.

I nodded my head and went into the house and up the stairs to Rachel Shane's room. It was at the end of the hallway and the door was open, but I knocked on it anyway. There was a police officer in the room with her who looked like he would rather not be.

"I have it from here," I told him. He nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. "Hello," I said to Rachel, her brother, Max, was watching TV and ignored us, "my name is Ziva David. I am with NCIS." Rachel was sitting on the bed; Max was sitting on the floor. Both had brown hair; Rachel's was long and strait, pulled back into a ponytail and Max's was cut in the same style as his dad's. Max's blue eyes were trained on the television and Rachel's green eyes studied me.

"I'm Rachel and this is Max, but you probably already knew that," she said, the ghost of a smile on her face.

"Would you mind telling me what you saw? I know this can be stressful, but we need to know what happened," I said, sitting down on the bed, leaving some room between us.

"I slept over my friend's house last night; her dad is a Marine, too. Her name is Nicole Abrams. She also has a little brother, Kevin, who's the same age as Max. Dad had to work late, so Mr. Abrams let us sleep over. When we got home today, the front door was unlocked, but I just figured dad unlocked it for us so we could get in. When we came in, though, I found him like he is downstairs," her voice broke and tears started running down her face.

Not really knowing what to do, I slid over and put my arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, she leaned into me, putting her head on my shoulder.

"Where is your mother?" I asked her.

"She died a while ago. When I was nine, she was in a hit and run accident and they never found who did it. What's your name again?" she asked me.

"Ziva David," I said.

"Ziva, what's going to happen to Max and me?" she asked.

"You will go and live with family, I suppose. Where is your father's address book? Do you have any close relatives?" I asked.

"My mom was an only child and her parents died right before Max was born. My dad was adopted and his parents are in a nursing home in Oklahoma, which is where he's from," Rachel told me.

"Well then, pack a bag, you and your brother are coming back to NCIS with us," Gibbs said from the now open doorway. I did not know how long he had been standing there. He gave me a look that said, "Hurry up," then walked away.

"Can I do anything to help?" I asked Rachel.

"Could you help Max pack some stuff? How long are we packing for anyway?" she asked.

"Pack enough for a week and we will go from there," I said. She nodded then turned to her brother.

"Hey, Max," she said, turning the TV off.

"Hey! Spongebob was on!" he said.

"I know, sweetie, but it's time to get up and get moving. You and me are going on a trip," Rachel said to her brother, trying to keep her tone upbeat.

"Where are we going?" Max asked.

"To NCIS," I said.

"Who are you?" he asked me.

"My name is Ziva David," I told him.

"So, Max, buddy, you go with Ziva. Show her your room and pick out some clothes to take with you on this trip, okay?" Rachel said.

"Okay, my room is this way," Max said, pointing down the hall.

"Lead the way," I told him. We walked past several doors and he opened one to a large blue room. It was the average six year old room, cluttered, messy, toys all over the floor, unmade bed. It was the opposite of Rachel's clean and purple bedroom.

"Do you have any suitcases?" I asked him.

"Yeah, in the closet," he said and opened the door. He pulled out a plain blue duffle bag and handed it to me. "Why are you here? Why are we going on a trip?" he asked.

"I am here to get you and your sister back to NCIS to sort this out. You are coming with us so that we can keep an eye on you," I explained. "How about we pick out some of your favorite clothes, alright?"

Ten minutes later, Max and I had picked out enough clothes for him for a week and we had also packed some of his favorite toys. I told him to play in his room for a few minutes while I went to check on Rachel. When I got to her room, I found her sitting on her bed, staring at a picture on her bedside table. I looked closer and saw that it was a picture of a man in uniform (presumably Adam Shane), a pretty, young woman, a younger looking Rachel, and a baby boy. They were all smiling at the camera.

"I, too, know what it is like to lose family," I told her, again sitting on the bed.

"Who?" she asked, whipping hastily at her face. When she turned to look at me, her eyes were red.

"When I was twenty and my sister, Tali, was sixteen, I lost her to a Hamas suicide bombing. I lost my mother to a similar cause at age twelve. And four years ago, my brother, Ari, was shot in front of me," I told her.

"Wow. I'm so sorry," she said. "But you still have your dad, right?"

"I am sorry, too. Yes, I still have my father, but I have come to learn that he is not a good man," I said. "But I have a new family now."

"NCIS?" she guessed.

"Yes, they have become my new family and I will be forever grateful for them. Now, are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Max didn't see dad. Is he still downstairs?" Rachel asked.

"No, our Medical Examiner has moved him," I told her. He has had more than enough time, the body should be gone by now, I thought to myself. I took her bag for her and she went to go get Max. I went outside where Gibbs was waiting for us.

"They okay?" he asked me.

"Rachel is shaken; Max does not understand what is going on. Gibbs, they have no relatives to go to," I said.

"Would you be willing to take them?" he asked.

"I do not think I am fit to take care of kids," I told him.

"They don't know any of us, and I think they've taken a liking to you. Besides, your place is biggest. It's just temporarily, Ziva," he said. "It's either your place or social services. Take your pick."

"Gibbs! You cannot just hand them over to social services like that!" I said.

"So you'll take them?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I said. "You would not really hand them over to social services, would you?"

He paused, pretending to think it over. "Nah," he said and smiled. "And I'm going to send DiNozzo over to help you."

I felt like something was missing then. We were the only ones left at the house. "Where are Tony, McGee, and Ducky?" I asked.

"DiNozzo and McGee went back with Ducky in his van so we'd have room for the kids in the car. Here they come now," he said, looking over my shoulder. I turned to see Rachel carrying Max out to us. He was on her back and his bag was in her hand.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked them. They just nodded. "This is my boss, Gibbs," I told them.

"Okay, let's load up," Gibbs said. He held out his hand for the bag in Rachel's hand. He opened the trunk and we each put a bag in as the kids got in the backseat.

The ride back to NCIS was very quiet. Max did not understand exactly what was going on, but trusted Rachel. Rachel was strong, if only for the sake of her brother. Her composure was calm, but her eyes told the real story.

"How about we stop and pick up some lunch. You guys hungry?" Gibbs asked the kids. They both just nodded. Gibbs could be very intimidating.

We picked up some Chinese food before going back. When we got to the Bull Pen, I set Max up behind my desk with his plate while Gibbs gave up his desk for Rachel. I noticed that Gibbs is very good with kids.

The rest of the day passed by slowly. By the time four o'clock came around, the kids were bored. Rachel was trying hard not to show it, but Max, being six, had difficulty not showing it.

Gibbs looked around the Bull Pen around quarter past four and said, "Okay, Ziva, Tony, you and the kids can go. McGee and I can finish this."

"Wait, Boss. What?" Tony asked.

"DiNozzo, I'm sending you home with David tonight to help with the kids. Any problems with that?" Gibbs asked him.

"No, Boss, none at all. See you tomorrow, McGoo," he said cheerfully and led the way to the elevator.

Once we were out of the building, we each started heading for our own cars. Tony did not think this was a good idea.

"Zee, maybe you shouldn't drive with other people in the car," he said.

"What is wrong with my driving?" I asked him. He is always criticizing my driving.

"Ziva, what ISN'T wrong with your driving? I'm surprised it hasn't already killed you!" Tony said.

"I take it you want to drive?" I said.

"I just want to keep the kids, and myself, alive," he said in his smart-ass way.

"I would not harm them," I said, but followed him to his car anyway. We put the bags in the trunk and the kids got in the back. I reluctantly got in the passenger seat. We drove to Tony's apartment first so he could get some clothes, then we went to my apartment.

My apartment has three rooms, so we put Max in the middle guest room and Rachel in the one on the east. My bedroom window looks out of the front of the apartment building.

Tony brought some movies with him and put one on while I ordered a pizza. The kids were immediately pulled into the Disney movie, but Tony came out to the kitchen not long after he put it on. I was not in the mood to watch a movie.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gently, leaning against the counter next to me.

"I told Rachel about my family today. Not very in-depth, but I told her how I have lost people as well," I said, not looking at Tony. Any other day I would have told him I was fine, but, for some reason, I opened up tonight.

"I'm so sorry, Ziva," he said. I had told him about Tali on the first day we had met and he knew about Ari, well, he thought he did. I suspected he knew about my mother as well.

"And, do you know what is worse?" I asked him. "You do not even know the truth about Ari."

"What's the truth then?" Tony asked. "Ziva, it's okay, you can tell me," he prompted.

"Do you remember the night he died?" I asked him.

"Yeah, Gibbs killed him in his basement," Tony said.

"Gibbs did not shoot him," I whispered, afraid my voice would break.

"Then who did?" Tony asked, confused.

"I did," I said and my body betrayed me and let two tears run down my face.

"Why? How?" he asked confused.

I sniffled. "Gibbs asked me to come to his house and, if he was right, Ari would be there, waiting to kill him. I was to shoot Ari if he tried to kill Gibbs."

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? You saved Gibbs," he said.

"I saved a man I hardly knew, yet I could not save my own brother," I said.

"Wait, Ari was your brother?" he asked. "But you had different last names."

"He was my half brother. We had the same father, but different mothers. Ari, Tali and I were all raised as siblings," I explained.

"You shot your own brother to save Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"Yes," was all I could say. Then, Tony pulled me into a big hug, not unlike Abby's.

"It's okay to cry, you know. I won't think any less of you," he whispered into my ear. I broke then, just as I had with Gibbs. It was pain I could not keep inside. I cried into Tony's shoulder until the doorbell rang. I jumped and reached for my purse.

"No, I got this," Tony said. "You're letting me stay over, the least I could do is pay for pizza. Go to the bathroom and wash your face. I'll get Rachel and Max."

"Thank you, Tony," I said. Unexpectedly, I reached up and kissed his cheek. I turned away before he could see me blush.

I heard Tony call Rachel and Max for dinner as I closed the bathroom door. I splashed water on my face and washed my hands before going back into the kitchen. Tony had gotten both of the kids a slice of pizza and was cutting one up for Max. Rachel was just sitting in her chair staring at her plate.

"Hey, Rachel, are you hungry?" I asked.

"Not really," Rachel said.

"Do you want to sit in the living room with me then? I was going to put some music on," I said. She looked like she wanted to talk, but I did not want to push her, I wanted it to be on her own terms.

"Okay," she said, getting up and following me.

We sat down at different ends of the couch after I turned the radio on. She sat sideways on the couch with her feet tucked under her, facing me. I did the same.

"Are you sure you are not hungry? You barely ate your lunch," I said.

"I can't eat. This whole thing is just grossing me out. Why did my dad have to die? If Max and I had been home last night…" she said, not wanting to say the words.

"Rachel, this is not about being at the right place at the right time. It is a blessing you and Max were not home. You probably would have died had you been there," I told her.

"It's not fair! Why couldn't I have saved him? Why did he have to die?" she asked again, her voice shaking this time, but she was not crying yet. She was strong and she was a fighter; a lot like me.

"Life is not fair. If it was, we would not have lost our mothers, your father, my siblings. We would be happy. Instead, we are sitting here. But I will not let anything happen to you or Max. You are safe here," I told her.

"Max is going to ask where daddy is. I've been waiting for it all day. It won't be long now. I don't know how to tell him," she said. The tears were falling down her face now. For the second time, I slid over next to her and held her. Again, she did not pull away. Rachel needed a mother, but I was the best she could do right now. I just held her and stroked her hair and hummed a Hebrew lullaby that I used to sing to Tali when she was young. Rachel also reminded me of Tali. Tali was strong and the most compassionate of us, just like Rachel.

We stayed in the living room until Rachel felt a bit better. It took a little while, but it had been what she needed.

"Max needs a bath tonight," she told me.

"I will go set up the bathroom for you, then. Unless you want me to do it," I said. Rachel was looking very tired and stressed.

"No, I'll do it. I'll make it quick," she said.

"It is fine. Take your time in there," I told her.

I set up the bathroom for her then went down the hall to my room. I was surprised to see Tony sitting on the bed when I walked in.

"I thought you would be out in the living room watching a movie," I said.

"I can't stop thinking about what's going to happen to those kids. While you were with Rachel, Max and I were talking about cars, his dad knew a lot about them. He's such a great kid, Ziva," Tony said. I could see this was stressing him out as much as it was stressing me out.

"When the case is over, the two will most likely be put into social services. They have no living relatives and their father had a will, but it only states that everything goes to them. Rachel gets her half of the money in less than four years when she turns eighteen," I told him. "They will also most likely be split up if and when they make it into a foster home," I said quietly.

"The system is screwed up," Tony said. He patted the bed next to him. "Come and sit down."

I sat down and he hesitantly put his arm over my shoulders, waiting for me to move away. I did not move away, though. I put my head on his shoulder; it had been a very long day and I was tired.

"Thank you for being here, Tony. I do not think I could have done this alone," I said.

"Any time," he told me. "They're good kids." We heard muffled talking from the bathroom down the hall. "Hey, what are we going to do about school? I mean, I know it's Friday, but you don't live in the same district as they did. Did Gibbs say anything about it?" Tony asked.

"To be honest, I had not even thought about it," I told him.

"Well, we have to bring them to NCIS in the morning and we'll ask Gibbs then. Do you know how long they'll be staying here?" he asked.

"No, I have no specific date," I said. Again, it was something that had never crossed my mind. I would take these kids as long as I needed.

"Well, knowing Gibbs, he'll have answers," Tony said.

Then we heard the bathroom door open and Rachel said, "Ziva?"

I got up and walked down the hall to the bathroom. "Yes?" I asked.

"Can you help me get him dressed? I want to take a shower, if that's okay?" she asked me. Max was in her arms, wrapped in a maroon towel that was far too big for him.

"Of course," I said. "The towels are in the closet. Take as long as you want. If you need anything, just call for me."

"Thanks," she said.

"You do not have to keep thanking me, Rachel. I am not doing this because I have to, I am doing this because I want to," I told her.

"Well, thanks anyway," she said with the ghost of a smile on her face before she disappeared into the bathroom.

I took Max down the hall to his new room, between Rachel's and mine. The walls were a deep, navy blue and had been like that since I got this place. My room is a soft, sea green and Rachel's is a nice shade f purple. When I had first moved in, I had no problem with the colors, so I had not changed them. Max picked out a pair of Superman pajamas and I let him get dressed, telling him to call me if he needed any help.

When I went back into my room, Tony's bag was open on the bed and my bathroom door was closed, through it, I could hear Tony singing Sinatra over the noise of the shower. I just smiled and shook my head and went to look for pajamas for myself. As I walked past the bag on my bed, I just peeked inside. Tony had put some of his work shirts and pants into it. They were the only things folded. Everything else was a mess. He had also put some of his sweatpants and OSU t-shirts into it.

Before I gave myself time to think, I grabbed my favorite of Tony's t-shirts (that he had just happened to bring and was conveniently on top) and a pair of his sweatpants from his bag. When Gibbs had left for Mexico a few years ago, Tony and I had had many movie nights at his house and I had borrowed his clothes a few times. I loved this shirt and all of the memories that it brought back to me.

I quickly changed and left my room. I liked to have tea after a long day at work, so I went back to the kitchen to start it. When the water was done, I poured it into my favorite mug (the one that was orange and said 'New Orleans' on it. It had been a birthday present from Abby a few years ago) and put the tea bag in. I jumped when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey," the voice said.

"Oh, Rachel, it's just you," I said, trying to get my breathing back to normal.

"Sorry I scared you," she said. She was wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a large black shirt and her hair was combed strait and pulled back into a ponytail.

"It is alright. Would you like some tea?" I asked her.

"No, thanks, I don't really like tea," she said.

"Would you like to sit with me?" I asked.

"Sure," she said. "Where?"

"Right here," I said. I put my mug down on the counter and then sat down beside it. Rachel just looked at me. "What?" I asked.

She just smiled. "Nothing. I've just never seen an adult sit on the kitchen counter just to drink tea," she said. "It's just funny."

"Well, it is my apartment, so I can do whatever I want. If I want to sit on the counter and drink my tea, then I will," I said and also smiled. She just hopped up and sat beside me.

"So, are you and Tony, like, going out?" she asked.

"No," I said too quickly. "Of course we are not. Why would you say that?" I asked.

"Well, I just assumed you didn't play basketball for OSU. Where are you from anyway? Sorry, that was rude," she said.

"It was not rude, trust me. I am from Israel, my whole family was. My father still lived there," I told her.

"What brought you to America? How did you get to working for NCIS?" she asked.

"One of my closest friends, and NCIS's former director, Jenny Shepard, offered me a liaison position a while back, almost four years ago, and I have been here ever since," I said, not wanting to tell her why and how I got the job; she did not need to know.

"Why is she the former director? Did she get a new job?" Rachel asked.

"No, she died in a house fire a year and a half ago," I said, knowing I had to stick with the cover story. I could not tell her the real version even if I had wanted to.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Me, too," I said.

We were lost in our own thoughts for a few minutes before Rachel asked, "What's going to happen to us?"

"I do not know. Gibbs did not tell me anything," I said. "Until we find you somewhere else to stay, you and Max will be staying here."

"Somewhere else as in Social Services?" she guessed.

"Yes. With no living relatives fit to take care of you, you have nowhere else to go for now. But, until this case is over, you will be under NCIS protection," I told her. "Now, I have a question for you."

"Okay, go for it," she said.

"Are you or Max allergic to anything? Foods? Medicines?" I asked. If there were any things in the house not to give them, I wanted them put away safe.

"I'm not allergic to anything, but Max is allergic to strawberries and blueberries. I don't get how those two things are related at all, but strawberries make him break out in hives and blueberries make his tongue swell and his throat constrict. I keep an epi-pen in my bag at all times and on the way out of the house this morning, I grabbed the one dad keeps taped to the wall in the kitchen for you. We've never had to use them, but it's better to be safe than sorry," she said.

"Rachel, that was very good thinking. Also, what do you guys usually eat for breakfast? I do not keep a lot of food in the house, since I am not usually home for long periods of time," I said.

"I usually have raisin bread toast and Max usually has Cheerios with banana slices in it," she said.

"Ok, and are there any foods you do not like? Every child has certain foods that they cannot stand, so tell me and I will not make them," I said.

"Um, not really. Max doesn't like fish, but that's about it. The only thing I won't eat is broccoli. I used to like it, but now, I just can't eat it," she told me.

"Well, that is easy enough," I said and it was. They seemed to be very easy kids. 

Rachel looked over at the clock on the stove. "Wow, is it really eight o'clock already? It's Max's bedtime. After I tuck him in, can I go on the computer for a few minutes?" she asked.

"You can go on the computer whenever you want to. I will write down my password for you and leave it over there, okay?" I told her.

"Thanks, I know you said you don't mind, but thanks anyway," she said.

As she went into Max's room, I went over to the computer and wrote down my password on a piece of paper on the desk. Under it, I wrote her a note saying I would be in my room if she needed anything and not to stay up too late. I put the paper over the keyboard and went into my room. Tony was lying on the bed watching one of the movies he must have brought.

"Hey, Zee," he said as I came in and shut the door.

"You might want to turn that down a little," I said, nodding at the TV. "Max is going to sleep," I told him. He turned it down to an almost inaudible level. "You can turn it up a little so that you can at least hear what they are saying," I said, smiling down as I sat down beside him.

"Nice pj's," he said, taking in my outfit.

"What is wrong with them?" I asked.

"Well, to start, they're mine," he said. "Stealing is a federal offence."

"I did not steal them. I just borrowed them," I informed him.

He just smiled and out his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I did not resist. "You _could_ have just asked, you know," he said into my ear.

"But, what would be the fun in _that_, my Little Hairy Butt?" I asked him.

**A/N: Hey guys! So, what did you think? So, I just watched the newest NCIS and it was AMAZING! Omfg! What's gonna happen next week? Pumped! Well, please review for this! Thanks! I love you guys! More to come!**

**And thank you to my beta: gibby101. She officially named this and she's been my beta all the way through Another Scuito in the Family and a few others. Thanks dude! I owe you one! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Here is the latest installment of A Family Divided! It's getting way too hot here way too fast! It's late May and it feels like summer! There is something wrong with that… but I'm making the best of it (aka staying in air conditioned places as much as possible while still getting sun) and writing my brains out (or trying at least). This fic is all in Ziva's POV unless I say otherwise.**

**Also, bear in mind, I have never attended a Military wake and funeral and I would look it up, but I am in the middle of nowhere Maine (Naples, Maine if you're curious) and I have no internet connection while I'm here, so I'm doing the best I can! Just asking here, are there any readers from around here? When I'm up here, I'm a complete loner, so if anybody's from around here, PM me or something! **

**And to all of my ****Another Scuito in the Family**** readers, Chapter 8 will (hopefully) be up soon. I'm having trouble getting it started (mostly because I don't really know how to start it… it's a work in progress), but when I do, it'll be fast and be up as soon as possible.**

**Okay, I know this isn't really an Author's Note, but recently I've fallen in love with an amazing song. It's called Pray for You by Jaron and the Long Road to Love and it's the best song I've ever heard. Listen to it when you have a minute and you'll see why I love it so much! (A side note from the beta, gibby101, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THAT SONG! My sister and I were laughing so much we couldn't breathe. It's amazing :D)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything here except the plot line and the characters I made up (mainly Rachel and Max Shane). All hail CBS and DPB! **

**This chapter is for all of my reviewers and gibby101, who is an awesome beta and still owes me pancakes (nope, I'm not letting that go!). {Uh, no I don't. I do owe you the gummy worms from your birthday. I never promised you pancakes.}**

As I always do, I woke up at 0500 to go for a run. Today, however, I had to be very quiet so as to not wake Tony, Rachel, or Max. I quickly and quietly got up and changed into my running clothes and sneakers and left.

After running my usual route, I got back to the apartment just before 0600. After a fast shower, I wrote a short note to Tony, telling him that I would be at the grocery store and to call if he wanted me to pick anything up for him. I took his car without a second thought. There is nothing wrong with my driving and, since we had taken his car back to my apartment yesterday, mine was still on the Navy Yard.

The store was not far, so it did not take me long to get there. I picked up Max's Cheerios and bananas and the raisin bread for Rachel to make toast. I also got peanut butter, jelly, white bread, lunch meats, apples and some snacks to keep in the house for the kids. I also picked up some more of my favorite tea and Tony's favorite coffee. I was not sure why I had gotten Tony's coffee, but I did not question it. I finished quickly and put everything in the car. I was home by 0645.

When I unlocked the door, I saw Tony sitting on the couch in the living room. He was still in his pajamas and was drinking a glass of water. "Hey," he said when he saw me.

"Good morning, Tony. Are Rachel and Max up yet?" I asked.

"No, I was thinking we should wake them up soon, though," he said.

"Yes, we should. I did not know what you would want for breakfast, but I got some fruit and I have cereal in the cabinet. I also got some of the coffee that you like," I told him.

"Thanks, Zee. I'll put the groceries away while you get the kids up, if you want," he offered.

"How about I put the groceries away and _you_ get the children. I appreciate the offer, but you do not know where everything goes," I said. And it was a kind offer, but I have a certain way I keep my kitchen.

"Okay, I'll get the kids," he said, for once not fighting me.

He headed down the hall to get the children while I went into the kitchen with the bags. I put everything away and, as I was finishing, Rachel came into the kitchen.

"Morning," she said, yawning.

"Good morning, Rachel. Would you like some toast? I bought your favorite," I said, pointing to the bag I had left on the counter.

"Sure, thanks. What time did you get up to go grocery shopping? It's really early," she said.

"I get up at 0500 to run and then when I got back, I showered and changed and went to the grocery store. I got home about five minutes ago," I told her.

"Wow. How do you get up that early and go to work and do everything else? You must be exhausted," she said.

"I have been doing this since I was twelve. I am used to it now," I explained. I put her toast in the toaster for her. "What do you like on your toast?" I asked.

"Just butter. I can make it myself, you don't have to," she said. "What are we doing today?"

"It is fine; I do not mind making it. Today we are going to NCIS. You and Max are most likely going to be spending the day with Abby. Tony, McGee, Gibbs and I will probably be in and out of the building all way," I told her.

"Who's Abby? Did I meet her yesterday?" she asked.

"No, you stayed in the squad room with us yesterday. Abby does not generally come up unless she has something so major that she cannot convey it over the phone. She is out forensic scientist and she is very nice. You will love her," I told her.

"Love who?" Tony asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Abby. Rachel and Max will be staying with her today," I said.

"Ah, yes, our favorite Goth," Tony said.

"Your forensic scientist is a Goth?" Rachel asked, sounding a little confused.

"Yeah, but she's the happiest and nicest Goth you'll ever meet. Trust me," he said. Then he turned to me, "I just got off the phone with Gibbs. H said come in any time we want, but we have lots of work to do so the later we come in, the later we're stuck there," he said, grinning.

"Where is Max?" I asked.

"Getting dressed; he'll be out when he's done," Tony said. "I just helped him pick out his clothes."

The rest of the morning passed quickly and easily. Everyone had breakfast, got dressed, and were out the door and in the Mustang by 0800.

When we got to NCIS, Tony went to the Bull Pen to tell Gibbs that we were here and I brought Rachel and Max to the lab. For once, Abby's music was at a tolerable level, so I did not have to scream to be heard.

"Hey, Ziva! You might as well go back upstairs, 'cause I don't have anything… Who are they?" she asked, only now noticing the children.

"Abby, this is Rachel and Max. Since we have a case, we were wondering-" I was cut off by Abby's loud voice.

"Of course I'll take them! We'll have a great time!" she said, her usual, happy self.

"Thank you, Abby," I said to her. I turned to the kids, "I will be right upstairs if you need me. Maybe, if Abby has time, she could give you a tour of the building. I will be back down in a few hours, okay?" I asked them.

"Okay," Rachel said. She looked nervous. I felt bad leaving her with Abby, since she didn't really know her.

I pulled Rachel into a hug and whispered in her ear, "Call me for anything. I will get away for you, alright?" she nodded.

"Okay, Max, you be good today," I said as I backed out of the room.

"Okay, bye, Ziva," he said.

For the rest of the day, we all worked very hard, all of us in and out of the building many times. Whenever Abby had anything, I either went down alone or with Gibbs. Tony managed to escape to see the kids a few times, but I was in the lab more than him.

Rachel and Max had fun with Abby. At several times during the day, I went down to find Rachel and Abby playing Box Office Trivia. Rachel was no Tony, but she was pretty good. I felt the need to check on them all day, even though I knew they were fine with Abby.

At lunchtime, when Tony and McGee were out getting food for everybody, I asked Gibbs about school for Rachel and Max.

"Well, Ziva, what do you want to do?" he asked me when I questioned him.

"I would like to make sure they stay in school and do not miss much more than they have to. Their school vacation ended and they are due in school on Monday. I know they will not be able to go that day, but I want to get their minds off of this mess. But, the thing is, I do not live in the same school district as they used to," I explained.

"So, if this case goes longer than tomorrow, with no new leads, we'll enroll them in your school district," Gibbs said. "For all we know, this case could go cold."

"But what if it does not go cold? What if it ends? Do you know where they would be going? Rachel has asked me, but I have not been able to give her a straight answer. I told her that I would talk to you," I said.

"How about we see how today goes and I'll give you an answer tomorrow, okay? I know this is hard on you, and DiNozzo too, but these kids need you to stay strong. We're getting closer, I can feel it," he said.

"Okay, Gibbs. I just have one more question," I did not pause to give him time to object. "Will they be separated forever if they are put into Social Services? Max needs Rachel and I know that she needs him too. They would be devastated if they got separated."

"Ziva, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, you should probably bring Abby, Rachel and Max some lunch," he said. I turned around and saw McGee and Tony coming out of the elevator.

I went over to them. "Tony?" I asked. "Would you like to have lunch with Abby, the kids, and me?"

"Sure, Zee, that sounds good," he said. McGee got out of the elevator and I got in. we went down to the lab and it sounded like Abby was trying to convert Rachel to her type of music. I recognized the CD playing as being Brain Matter. Abby and Rachel were laughing about something and Max was sitting on the floor coloring with crayons scrounged up from somewhere in the building.

"Hey! We have lunch!" Tony said, making our presence known as we walked into the lab. We ate our subs that Tony had picked up down the road while sitting on the floor of Abby's lab. Abby kept it very clean, just as she did with the rest of the lab. She did not tolerate messes.

The rest of the day passed but just as quickly as the morning had. Gibbs had been right: we were close to catching the guy. It turned out to be another man close to him, a friend nonetheless- Petty Officer Nicholas Douglas. He had almost gotten away with it, too. But he had left an undiscovered fingerprint on Adam Shane's watch. The bullet lodged in Shane's heart also matched Douglas' gun.

Since it was Saturday and everyone had plans, we did not go out for our customary end-of-case drinks. Abby had a bowling tournament with the nuns that she could not miss. Gibbs was working on his boat. Ducky was going to finish reading his book and then he had to prepare Petty Officer Adam Shane's body for the wake and funeral. Tony, the children, and I were going back to my apartment to relax after the crazy day.

The wake was scheduled for the following night and the funeral would take place on Monday morning. On Tuesday, we had to call Social Services and they would pick up Rachel and Max. The wake and funeral would be quiet, with just Tony, Abby, Ducky, Gibbs, Tim, the Director, Jimmy, the kids, Shane's friends and their families, and me.

The night passed at an even faster speed then the day. We all got home, had dinner, Max had a bath, the he went to bed. Rachel retreated to her room not long after, saying she was going to read. Tony treated me to a James Bond movie that I fell asleep during.

When I woke up in the morning, I realized I had overslept. It was 0700 and I was still in bed. Sometime during the night, Tony had moved over to my side of the bed and put his arm around my waist and my back was pressed against his chest. It did not feel weird or awkward like I thought it would. It felt nice.

I mentally shook myself. I could not start getting used to this. Tony would only be staying here until Rachel and Max left on Tuesday, just two days from now. After that, we would go back to being the way we were before.

My heart sunk a little at that last thought. I did not want to go back to being just friends with Tony, but, at the same time, I do not think I am ready for a committed relationship. Plus, it went against Rule Number Twelve and it was not good to go against Gibbs.

Tony's stirring shook me out of my thoughts.

"Morning, Zee," he said.

"Good morning," I said to him.

He studied my face for a few seconds before asking, "What's wrong, Ziva?"

"I am fine," I told him.

"No, you're not. I know you, Zee. You've been my partner for four years; I know when something's wrong. So spit it out. What is it?"

"Nothing," I said. I tried to get out of bed, but he tightened his arm around me, holding me down. Normally, he would not do this. He was feeling unusually brave this morning. "Tony." I said, warning him.

"You're not getting up until you tell me what's up. Please, Ziva, just tell me," he said, resolved to begging.

I gave in so he would let me up. "We have to call Social Services on Tuesday. That is the day after tomorrow. I am worried about them," I admitted.

"Yeah, me too," he said, still not loosening his grip on me.

"Tony, will you please let me up? I have told you what is wrong, now you have to hold up your end of the deal," I said.

He pretended to think about it, and then let me go. As I walked to the bathroom, he said from behind me, "I like the shirt, by the way. It looks good on you." I had 'borrowed' another shirt last night, this one was his basketball jersey and it had his name on the back and it went down almost to my knees.

We decided to let the kids sleep in this morning; it was going to be a tough day. Before the wake, we were going back to the Shane's house to pick up some more of their belongings. Adam Shane's will said nothing about what to do with the house, just his belongings, which all went to the kids. Either way, NCIS would not be dealing with the house.

I took a quick shower and then met Tony in the kitchen. He had showered last night and was making coffee now.

He turned around to face me when he heard me then pointed to a mug on the counter next to him. "That's for you," he said.

I walked over and picked it up. It was my tea. "Toda, Tony," I said and took a sip. I liked to start my day out with tea.

"Prego," he said, answering my Hebrew in Italian. He always hopped (or is it jumped) at the chance to show off his meager Italian knowledge.

I decided to read until Rachel and Max woke up. I browsed the books on the shelf in my living room; there were many in many languages: Hebrew, French, Spanish, English, and Arabic being the main ones. I picked up a French book that I have not read in a while and settled down on the couch with it and my tea.

I had just gotten through the first chapter when Tony came in and sat down beside me. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"It is French. You would not understand it," I said, not looking up.

"Do you mind if I turn the TV on in here? I could watch in the bedroom if you don't want the noise…"

"No, I do not mind if you watch in here," I said. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table, sat down beside me, and put his feet up were the remote had been seconds before. He turned the TV on, but I did not pay attention to what show he put on, I went back to my book. I had read it once before, a few years ago, and I had really liked it. I got it on a mission in France before I came to NCIS. It had taken me only a few days to read it back then because we had not done much while. My partners and I were held up in a safe house for nearly a week and nothing exciting had come out of it.

Unconsciously, I pulled my feet out from under me and stretched out on the couch. When I accidently kicked Tony's leg, I looked up. When I read, the rest of the world fades away and I had forgotten he was sitting right beside me.

"I am sorry, Tony," I said, starting to pull my legs back.

He grabbed my feet before they could go very far. "No, it's fine. I'll be a footrest," he said and put my legs up on his lap.

I just smiled and shook my head; he could be so weird sometimes. Just as I was about to go back to my book. I saw some movement in the hallway. I quickly took my feet back off Tony's lap, not wanting whoever it was, Rachel I guessed, by the height, to think they had walked in on something they should not have.

It was Rachel that came down the hall. She appeared in the doorway a few seconds later.

"Good morning, Rachel," I said.

"Morning," she said. "Morning to you too, Tony," she said, a slight smile on her face. "So what time are we going to the house today?"

"Morning, Rache," Tony said.

"Whenever you want to go, we will leave. I will take you early if you would rather go without Max," I offered.

"Can I go early? I did explain to him what happened already, but I don't think he really gets it. I don't want to keep all of dad's stuff, but I do want some special things. I know Max won't know what to pick, so I'll get him some things too," she said.

I got up and put my hand on her shoulder, "Rachel, I will help you with whatever you need, no questions asked, alright? We can go whenever you are ready. If you want breakfast here, I will make you some toast," I said.

"How about we have breakfast here then go? I just want to see Max before we leave," she said.

"That works for me. Tony, you can handle Max for a while, can you not?" I said, turning to him.

"Yeah, sure. You two can have some girl time and we'll watch a movie or something. Something manly," he said smiling.

"Would you like breakfast now?" I asked Rachel.

"Sure," she said.

I went to go into the kitchen, but Tony jumped up off the couch and held me back. "What?" I asked him.

"You're not making breakfast. I am. Who wants pancakes?" he asked us enthusiastically.

"Those sound really good right now," I said. I cannot remember the last time I had pancakes. Not since I had come to America. "Do you want pancakes, Rachel?" I asked her.

"Yeah, that does sound good. Can I help with anything?" she asked Tony.

"You can help by telling me what you want in them," he said, walking into the kitchen with us behind him.

"Um, what do you have?" she asked, turning to me.

"I actually had not planned on making pancakes, so I do not have anything. I will go down to the store and pick some things up. What do you like?" I asked.

"Max like chocolate chip pancakes and my favorite is apple, but I'll have plain if you don't want to have to cut the apples up small like that," she said.

"How about, instead of chocolate chips, we put M&M's in instead?" Tony suggested.

"That is a good idea! Okay, so I am getting M&M's, apples, and maple syrup?" I asked. "Oh, and we also need pancake mix… I do not have any here," I said, sitting down at the table with a piece of paper and a pen to write a list.

"You don't make pancakes often, do you, Zee-vah," Tony asked.

"I have not made or had pancakes in at least ten years," I told him.

"So we need maple syrup, M&M's, apples, pancake mix, and eggs because you're running low. You got all that?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Great! I'll be back in a little while," he said, taking the list out from under my hand and walking towards the front door.

"Wait, I thought I was going," I said, confused.

"Well, that was when we thought we only needed syrup. I'll go, cause you went yesterday. It's no big deal. I'll be back soon," he said. "Text if you need anything else," he said and then he was gone.

Rachel and I decided that we would read until Tony got back. It was quiet in the apartment and she, like me, liked to read. We both settled onto the couch with our books and sat in almost complete silence until Tony returned about half an hour later with a shopping bag.

"Hey! Is Max-A-Million up yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet. he should be up soon, though," I said.

"Once he smells breakfast cooking, he'll be up and out of bed in a hurry," Rachel said.

Sure enough, she was right. Just as Tony was taking Rachel's apple pancakes out of the frying pan, Max appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey, buddy," Rachel said when she saw him.

"Hi. What's for breakfast?" he asked.

"Pancakes. You hungry, Little Man?" Tony asked.

"Yeah! Can I have chocolate chip?" he asked.

"How about M&M instead?" Tony asked, holding up the bag.

"Yeah! That's so cool! Candy for breakfast!" he said, not sounding at all like he had just woken up. That is a six year old for you.

"Alright, calm down. How about you go sit at the table with Rachel and your pancakes will be done in a few minutes, okay?" Tony said. He was very relaxed with children and did not seem to mind Max's hyperness.

"So, Zee, what do you want in your pancakes?" Tony asked, once he had gotten both Rachel and Max their breakfasts.

"I'll have M&M pancakes. I love chocolate," I said, smiling.

"M&M it is then," he said, putting some in the two pancakes in the pan on the stove.

Once we were all sitting at the table, I took my first bite of a pancake in ten years. It was amazing! "Tony! these are so good!" I said.

He just laughed at me. "Ziva, you need to eat these more often. How could you go ten years without them? I can barely go a week!" he said.

When breakfast was over around 0900, Rachel got dressed for the day, we said goodbye to Tony and Max, and left. I let Rachel pick the radio station in my car on the ride over and she picked a station that she knew the words to every song.

When we reached the house, I parked in the driveway and we sat in the car, just looking at the house. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah. I think so," she said. "What does it look like in there now?" she asked after a moment of thinking.

"Exactly like I imagine it did a week ago. It is cleaned up because we found all that we needed and professionals come in when we are done and clean houses. I cannot imagine that is a good job," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, it doesn't sound good," she agreed.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let's go," she said and opened her door. I did the same and we let ourselves into the house. We went through the garage because neither of us had a house key and she knew the code to open the door.

When we entered the house, Rachel looked around the downstairs quickly and went upstairs.

"Would you like me to stay down here?" I asked her. I was unsure of what she wanted me to do and I did not want to intrude.

"No, you can come up if you want," she said.

"I do not want to intrude," I told her.

"No, you're not, honest," she said. I followed her upstairs and leaned on the doorframe of her room as she walked in and started putting a few things in a bag.

"Would you like me to get Max's clothes or should I leave that to Tony when they come?" I asked.

"Max's suit is hanging in his closet, not even Tony could miss it," she said, the ghost of a smile on her face. I knew this was hard for her and that was why she didn't want Max with her. She also needed a little break from him; he'd been shadowing her almost everywhere she'd gone the past few years. She was practically his mother. She was only fourteen and it was a hard burden to bear.

"Rachel, you don't have to be so strong anymore," I told her. I was not usually very open with my emotions, but I looked at Rachel and saw myself in her so much it hurt.

"Yes, I do. Max needs me to be strong and take care of him. Dad needed me to be strong and take care of myself and Max these past few years. You need me to be string and take care of Max because you aren't really used to taking care of kids," she said. I saw a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

"Rachel, I was in your shoes not long ago. My mother died and my father was never around. I took care of my little sister, Tali, for years before she died. Every day I ask myself what would have happened if I did not let her go out that night like she wanted to. She was underage and I was practically her mother. I took it upon myself to bear the weight of her death. I am not saying you are going to let Max die, I am trying to say I understand where you are coming from. But you have us now and he is not your sole responsibility, he is mine and Tony's as well," I told her. "Let us worry about him and you worry about yourself." I had never been this open with anyone. A few times in the past, Tony had tried to get me to open up, but I could not. He did not understand and would not.

"I know I wasn't there, but I can tell you that it wasn't your fault," she said.

"In the past few years, I have learned that as well. That does not mean it did not and does not hurt. That does not mean that I do not feel responsible," I said. "I am sorry, I did not mean to make this about me."

Then she did something Abby would have done, she came over and hugged me. She stood up on her tip-toes and put her arms around my neck. I hugged her back and, for some reason, I started crying. I knew she was crying too. I stroked her hair and rubbed her back. I felt really connected with her; we had been through many of the same things in our lives.

After a few minutes, we let go and she scanned the room for anything else she might want to take with her. She knew that she would not be able to take everything with her when she entered the system. I felt bad, watching her practically throw her life away.

"I just want to go into my dad's room and get a few things," she said to me, taking one last glance around the room.

"Take your time, I do not mind," I told her.

"Thanks," she said and went down the hall. I knew she was going to be emotional and I did not know if she would want me there for that. I stayed in the hall as she went into the room. After about a minute, she poked her head out the door. "Ziva? Where are my dad's tags?" she asked.

"Abby has them. Gibbs asked her to keep them safe," I said.

"Okay. I want them," she said, her voice and face full of emotion.

"They would not go to anyone else," I promised her.

"Well, I have what I want of his. Max can pick what he wants later. Can we leave? I need to get out of here," she asked.

"Of course. You have the clothes you need for tonight and tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said.

We left and silently got back in the car. I felt like we should go somewhere or do something without Tony and Max around.

"Rachel, do you want to get anything? You like to read, yes?" I asked.

"Yeah, I love reading," she said.

"How about we go to the bookstore and you can get some new books? I could use some good books as well," I said.

"I don't have any of my money with me," she said.

"This one is on me. I feel like I have not done much while you were here so I am making up for it. I have not taken care of anyone but myself in a long time," I said.

"You've done a great job," she said.

We drove to my favorite bookstore, not too far from my apartment and told her to get whatever she wanted and I did not care how much it cost. I told her to meet me in the front of the store in an hour and then we'd go home.

An hour later, I met her in the front and we both had four books with us. "Thanks, Ziva," she said when I paid for them and we were walking out.

"It was my pleasure. I really do not mind," I told her.

"So, after this we're never going to see you again, are we?" she asked when we were in the car heading home.

"I do not know," I answered truthfully.

"And you don't know where they're going to put us, do you?" she asked. It was not an accusing tone, just curious.

"No, I am sorry. I would like to know more and I would like to say that we're going to see each other again, but I really do not know," I told her.

When we got back to the apartment, it was around 11:30 and Tony and Max were watching a movie. It did not surprise me at all and I do not think it surprised Rachel either. She had only known us for a few days, but you get to know people fast when you live with them.

Rachel went to sit with Max and that was when Tony realized we were home. He had been wrapped up in the movie.

"Hey, how'd it go?" he asked, following me into the bedroom.

"It was hard, Tony. Very hard," I told him. I sat down on the bed and he closed the door and sat beside me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"They have only been here for a few days, but I am already so attached to them. I feel like I am about to give up my own children," I told him honestly. I am not usually very open, but today I was letting people in for some reason.

"Yeah, I feel the same way and I wish they could stay, but this is what we have to do. Maybe sometime in the future we'll all get back together again. You never know," he said.

"What are we going to do tomorrow after the funeral? We have to call Social Services on Tuesday, but I think we should do something tomorrow afternoon," I said.

"Yeah, it being the last day we have them and all. But what are you going to do with two kids who just buried their dad? I don't think they're gonna be up for much," he reasoned.

"Okay, we will ask them, then," I said.

"Do you think I should take Max over sooner rather than later?" he asked me.

"He needs his suit before five o'clock. It is hanging in his closet," I said.

"What about his dad's stuff? What should it be? I've never done this," he said.

"Rachel has taken what she wants and do not mention his tags, she told me that she wanted those," I told him.

"Okay, so I need his suit and no tags. Got it," he said. "Anything else?"

"Let his get a few of his toys from his room, but I want all of their things to fit in one bag. The ones they have here have a bit of room left, but I do not want them to have a million bags with them. One should be enough," I said. It sounds heartless when it is said like that, I know.

"I can do that. How about we order pizza, eat together, and then we'll go?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me," I said.

This time, Tony let me pay for the pizza. We sat at the table and tried to act normal, but I knew the kids were dreading what was coming up that night. After lunch, Tony left with Max in the Mustang and Rachel and I went to our separate bedrooms and read. I decided to start my new books after I finished the French book I started this morning.

Then, my cell phone went off; I had a new text from Tony. It said: _Hey, can you ask Rachel where her dad kept his tie clips? Max said that his dad wanted him to have them._

I went down the hall and knocked on Rachel's open door. "Hey," I said.

"Hi," she said.

"Rachel? Where did your dad keep his tie clips? Max wants them and Tony does not know where he kept them," I said.

"He kept those in the top drawer of his dresser in the back corner," she told me.

"Thanks," I said. I pulled out my cell and sent that information to Tony.

"Hey, Ziva? I forgot something when we were at the house. Can you ask Tony to get it for me?" she asked.

"Sure, what was it?" I asked.

"I want my dad's jacket. The camouflage one," she said.

"Of course, I will ask him to get it for you. Anything else?" I asked.

"No, that's it. Thanks," she said.

I took out my cell phone and texted to Tony: _Hey Tony? Can you get their dad's camouflage jacket as well? Rachel wants it and she forgot to get it when we were there._

Less than a minute later he texted back: _Got it. Be home soon._

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, I heard the front door open. "Hey! We're home!" Tony shouted as if it was not obvious.

"Hey," I said, coming out of my room.

"Hey, Sweetcheeks," he said, using is nickname for me from years ago. I blushed.

"Must you call me that, Tony?" I asked.

"Yes, I must. It always makes you blush and nothing else does. You're only human, Zee. If I'm the only one that can make you blush, I'm going to do it as much as humanly possible," he teased.

"That is not very nice, my Little Hairy Butt," I said. He just smiled his Tony-smile at me.

"I'm not the only one who plays dirty around here, am I?" he said raising his eyebrows at me.

"No, apparently not," I said.

"Well, I did everything you asked me to do. Max brought his suit into his room, he got a few things from his room, picked out a few of his dad's things that he wanted, and I got Rachel the jacket that she wanted," he reported.

"Thank you, Tony," I said.

"It wasn't a problem, Zee-vah," he told me.

The rest of the afternoon passed hurriedly and by 4:30, everyone had taken a shower and we were all getting dressed. Tony and Max had stopped by Tony's apartment when they were out so that Tony could grab a black suit and tie. Rachel and I were dressed similarly in black dresses that went down to our knees.

Tony was getting dressed in my/our room and I was in the bathroom. I was fighting with my zipper. It was stuck and I could not reach it. I cursed silently and opened the door to the bedroom a crack.

"Tony?" I called out.

"Yeah? What's up, Zee?" he asked.

"My zipper is stuck. Could you help me with it?" I asked.

"Yeah, one second, okay?" he said. I heard him zip the zipper on his dress pants and then walk the few feet to the bathroom door. "I'm coming in, okay?" he said before he opened the door.

I moved a few steps so that he would have room to walk into the bathroom. "Can you get the zipper unstuck?" I asked him. It was a full-length zipper and it as stuck at the bottom, right at my waist.

"Sure," he said. He put one hand on my waist and the other on the zipper. "Shesh, this is stuck, isn't it?" he said, tugging at it over and over. I was holding the top together in case that made it any easier. Finally, he got it unstuck and pulled it up my back to where it stopped at my shoulder blades. "There."

"Thank you, Tony," I said and turned around. He was in a tucked-in black shirt and pants. His jacket was on the bed and his feet were already in shoes.

"No problem. Wow, you look beautiful," he said, looking at me. My dress was a simple black one that had a V-cut in the front that did not go too low and not exactly pasta (or was it some specific type of pasta?) straps, but they were still thin. It stopped just above my knees and my black heels were in the bedroom, so I was just in leggings. I would have a black shall over my shoulders because it was only February and it was cold outside.

"Thank you. Should we get the kids?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just have to get my tie on," he said. He quickly got it on and tied and I striated it for him. It was thinner than usual ties and shorter than McGee wore his. It worked for Tony.

"You look nice," I told him as we walked out of the bedroom. I was carrying my shoes because I knew I would be wearing them for a while later and they bothered my feet to have them on too long.

"Thanks. Do you recognize the tie?" he asked.

"Should I?" I asked. It seemed a little familiar, but I could not place it. Tony did not often wear ties.

"It's the one I wore the first time we went undercover," he said.

I smiled and shook my head. He would remember something like that. I walked over to Rachel's closed bedroom door and knocked. A "Come in," came from inside.

"Hey," I said as I walked in and closed the door behind me. "How are you doing?"

"Better than I thought I would be. I just want this all to be over with," she confessed.

"Well, I think we are about to go. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said getting up and grabbing the camouflage jacket off her bed. It was acceptable to wear tonight. She picked up her shoes and followed me out the bedroom door.

Tony and Max were dressed almost identically and they met us in the front hall. Tony helped me into my coat and then we all headed out the door and into the Mustang.

After a fifteen minute ride to the funeral home, we got a good parking spot and headed inside. We were the first ones there. A man who worked there opened the door as we approached and the kids went in before us. Rachel took Max's hand as we walked into the room where Adam Shane's casket was. The room had many flowers in it. I read some of the cards and they had been sent from many different people. The room smelled only like flowers- a sickly sweet smell that always gave me headaches.

They knelt at the mini alter for about a minute before they got up together. Tony and I paid our respects together as well and when we got up, we turned around to find Rachel and Max in tears. Tony picked Max up and carried him over to a chair and sat him down on his lap. I put my arm around Rachel's shoulders and led her over to a two-seater couch and sat down with her.

Everyone else who was coming all arrived around the same time. Abby came with McGee and after she knelt by the casket, came over and gave Rachel a huge hug. Gibbs came next, followed by a man in uniform and his wife and young daughter. The girl looked like she was about ten and when they came in, Rachel looked up and went to go talk to them. Max had gotten up off Tony's lap a minute before and Tony came and sat next to me where Rachel had been.

"Hey," he said.

"I feel so bad for them," I whispered to him. The room was very quiet.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

More people filtered in. Everyone who was coming from NCIS was here and we were just waiting for a few families that the Shane's knew and everyone would be here. There were not more than twenty five people here and we were only expecting thirty.

Rachel and Max were talking to a lot of different people and every time someone new walked in, they hugged both of the children. A few people had come to talk to us, but had not stayed long to chat.

After about an hour, everyone was here and Rachel came over to me with a man who had a military hair cut. We stood up when they approached us.

"Hey, Tony, Ziva, this is Uncle Eddie. He's Nicole's dad and we stayed with him the night before dad… before we found dad," she said.

"Thank you so much for taking care of these kids," he said, holding his hand out for both of us to shake. "Adam and I were close, these kids are practically my niece and nephew. Rachel and Nicole are practically sisters and Kevin and Max are best friends. I'm sorry I haven't been around to help. Work has kept me very busy."

"We've been in control, but thank you, Mr. Abrams," Tony said.

"Eddie, please," he said.

"Tony DiNozzo," Tony told him. "And this is my partner, Ziva David. We work for NCIS and we've kept these kids safe these past few days."

"I didn't even know this had happened until yesterday when Adam didn't show up to work. You guys were interrogating everyone, but I never met either of you," he said.

"We were with the kids a lot more than we were at work. We probably just missed each other," Tony said.

"So, what's going to happen from here? Are the kids going to be staying with you?" he asked.

"No, we have to call Social Services on Tuesday. We have no control after that," I said.

"Wow. Can I do anything?" he asked.

"No, we have managed and will manage. It is sad to see them go, but neither of us are in a position to keep them," I said. "I wish it was different, but it is not."

"So you two aren't…" he asked, indicating he thought we were married.

"Oh, no. We're just partners at work. I've been helping her with the kids, but we're just friends," Tony said quickly.

"Sorry, I just assumed," he said. And he was not far off, when we had stood, Tony had put his arm around my waist and I realized, after he said that, that I was leaning unconsciously into Tony.

"It's okay. It was nice to meet you, Eddie," Tony said. Only then did I realize that Rachel was not standing with us anymore. She had come over with Eddie, but then she disappeared. We all shook hands again and then he walked away.

Once he was out of earshot, Tony leaned down and whispered in m ear, "Why is it that people always assume that we're married?"

"I have no idea, My Little Hairy Butt," I said.

The rest of the wake passed without incident and we all left around eight o'clock. The four of us went to get food because we were all hungry. We had not eaten since lunch. Not the smartest idea.

We ate in the restaurant and got home just before nine. It was late and Max was tired. Tony carried him into his room, got him changed and tucked him in. I walked Rachel into her room and said good night, leaving her to go to bed when she wanted. It was still early for her.

When I walked into the bedroom, Tony was already there, fiddling with his tie.

"Tony, could you get the zipper for me?" I asked him.

"Sure, Zee," he said. When he got the zipper down to the bottom, I started to walk to the bathroom, stopping to pick up my pajamas, which were his basketball shirt and sweatpants.

When I stood up again, I turned around and Tony was staring at me. "What?" I asked, waiting for some comment about me walking around half-naked for him.

"What're the scars on your back?" he asked.

"What scars?" I asked, knowing exactly which one he meant.

"The ones all over your back," he said.

"Oh, those," I said trying to sound nonchalant about them.

"Yeah, those," he said.

"I'll tell you when I come out," I said quickly went into the bathroom.

When I came out a few minutes later, he had changed out of his suit and was sitting patiently on the bed waiting for me.

I sat next to him and he looked at me. "The scars?" he prompted.

"Yes, I have scars. Lots of them. All over," I said. "They are not uncommon."

"But why do you have them all over your back? Please don't tell me you got them the way I think you got them," he pleaded with me.

"How do you think I got them?" I asked.

"Somalia," he said.

"I got them the way you think I got them," I told him. It was easier to just get it out there.

"Oh, God, Zee," he said.

"I do not need pity," I told him.

"Was it… are they from… him?" he asked. We both know who 'he' was.

"Him, yes, and others as well. You know how you are always telling me I am stubborn? They thought the same thing," I said, not smiling like I would have any other time.

"Zee, I'm so sorry we didn't get to you earlier. We thought you were dead all summer," he said. "We couldn't contact you and we didn't hear anything."

"Tony, I do not blame you. I am okay now and it has been almost a year and he is dead. It is more then I could have hoped for while I was there," I told him. I reached out and put my hand on his cheek. He held it there with both of his own.

"I missed you so much that summer," he told me. Today was a day that all feelings were being let out apparently. We had never talked about this before.

"I missed you, too," I told him. I did not tell him that I had wished that he was there with me. I did not tell him how I really felt.

We went to sleep not long after that. Tony did not even try to sleep on his own side of the bed, instead deciding to just come over to my side. He put one of his arms under my head and the other around my waist, pulling me against him. We fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, my alarm clock was set to go off at eight. We had to be at the church at nine. The two of us woke up easily to it and Tony went to get the kids up while I got in the shower. When I got out, I put on the same dress I had on yesterday.

And again, as I tried to pull the zipper up, it got stuck. I opened the bathroom door and stuck my head out. Tony wasn't in the bedroom. "Tony?" I called out. No answer. "Tony?" I called louder.

"Yeah, Ziva? What's up?" he asked, his voice starting in the kitchen and coming closer with every step.

"My zipper is stuck again. Could you please help me?" I asked.

"Sure," he said, coming into the bedroom and then the bathroom. Again, he had trouble with it, but he got it up eventually. "Hey, Zee?" he asked, closing the door so that the kids would not hear whatever he was about to say.

"Yes?" I asked.

"How many are there?" he asked.

I turned to face him. "How many what are there?" I asked.

"Scars. From him?" he asked.

"Too many," I said.

"I'm so sorry," he said again.

"It is not your fault," I told him.

"It doesn't matter! I could have been there! We could have saved you so much earlier!" he said. He pulled me into a hug. "It's all my fault," I thought I heard him whisper.

"No, it is not. Stop telling yourself that. You need to have breakfast and get ready. We have to leave in twenty minutes," I told him.

"I had breakfast. I'll go get dressed," he said. We both left the bathroom.

Twenty minutes and no problems later, the four of us left the house. It was cold outside, but not as cold as it could have been. The weather was taking a turn for the better.

The funeral was long. The priest was talking and talking and we were standing up and sitting down just to be standing up again. There were lots of flowers there as well. Not as many as there had been last night, but many.

After the service, everyone got in their cars and we all went to the cemetery in a procession. Tony, the children and I had been offered a limousine, but we had declined. It was too much of a hassle. At the cemetery, everyone made a large circle around Adam Shane's flag-covered casket and we were all given a flower. The priest said some nice words and then we all placed our flowers on top of the casket. Rachel and Max were both crying by this point, and so were most of the people who knew him. I saw Eddie whipping at his face, surrounded by his family.

There was a small lunch after the service and we stayed for a little while, but after an hour and a half, Rachel pulled me aside and asked if we could leave. She'd had a long day and it was only one thirty now. We left not long after that.

We decided to spend the rest of the day at home. Tony treated us to a movie marathon until dinner, then we all went into our separate rooms. None of us really came out that night.

The next morning, Tony called Gibbs when we had all woken up. Gibbs told him that he had called Social Services for us and that the kids would be picked up at noon from NCIS. He also asked us to bring them in a little before so that the team and Ducky, Abby, and Jimmy could say goodbye.

We spent the rest of the morning at home, getting all of Rachel's and Max's things together. We all got in the car around eleven and headed in. We got to the Bull Pen around eleven thirty.

There were plenty of hugs and tears to go around. The lady from Social Services walked in as I had Max in my arms and Ducky had Rachel. With one last hug each for Tony and me, Rachel and Max had to leave. Before they did, I took Rachel aside and gave her a piece of paper. "This has my cell phone number, Tony's cell phone number, and the numbers to reach us here. Call us if you need anything or just want to talk," I told her.

"Thank you for everything, Ziva," she said.

I pulled her into a hug. "It was my pleasure. I will miss you," I told her.

"I'll miss you, too," she said. When we broke apart, we were both crying. And then they were gone.

Tony pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "It's gonna be okay, Zee," he said.

I was about to respond when Gibbs came walking in. I had not even noticed that he had left. He looked at all of us and said, "Gear up."

**A/N: Okay guys, what did you think? This took me forever to type! I've been working on it for days and days and days! It turned out to be twenty pages on Microsoft Word! Crazy, huh? Well, please, please, please review! I love them! They give me the inspiration to keep this thing going! Happy Memorial Day! **

**Also, if anybody is looking for a good book to read, James Patterson's Maximum Ride series is AMAZING! I read the first book in a day and I'm almost done with the second one now! Thanks again for reading! You guys are the best! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter! So, two chapters in and (at last count) I had 27 reviews! Guys! You're amazing! Thanks soooooo much! So, this isn't much of an author's note, I know (well, not like my usual ones anyway. Do you guys even read these or do I write them for my own enjoyment?). Oh, one last thing, the beginning of this chapter is just going to be a redo of the ending of chapter two. I think I like this one a little better, and now you don't have to re-read the end of the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in here, except Rachel, Max, any other random character I made up, and the plot. Everything else belongs to DPB. We owe it all to him!**

**To gibby101: Yes, you still owe me pancakes, as we decided a few weeks ago. When are we gonna do that? **

**Ziva's POV**

I watched in disbelief as Rachel and Max left. I had only known them for a few days, but I had grown to love them. They had changed me.

I looked around the room as the doors closed with their usual ding. Abby looked sad and was leaning on McGee. Gibbs had his usual poker face on, making him harder for me to read. Tony's face mirrored what I felt. His eyes met mine and my vision started to blur.

Tony moved the two steps between us and pulled me into a hug, his strong arms around me, my head in his neck, breathing in the smell that was 100% Tony.

Sometime during the hug, Gibbs had disappeared. A few minutes later, Tony let me go and we were all startled when we head Gibbs' voice say from behind us, "Gear up."

Like someone had cracked a whip, we all went into motion. Abby left the Bull Pen, heading for the elevator, Gibbs headed to a different elevator than Abby, and Tony, McGee, and I grabbed out backpacks and quickly followed Gibbs, meeting him at the elevator just as the doors opened.

I went through the rest of the day on autopilot. When we got to the scene of the murder, McGee gave me the camera; I had not even heard Gibbs' order for me to shoot. I took pictures of everything and then went back to the van. I had no idea what I had just taken pictures of. It did not matter to me anyway. All I could think of was Rachel and Max. I missed them already. So much.

When we got back to base an hour later, I sat down at my desk and picked up my phone, getting ready to call the numbers I'd gotten from McGee. He'd been really nice, he'd given me a sheet of paper that gave me the numbers to call, who would answer, and what I'd ask them. He knew I was having an off day. Gibbs walked by my desk and gently took the phone out of my hand and motioned for me to follow him to the elevator. He took the paper with the numbers and information off my desk; he put it on Tony's desk and I followed him. He pushed the button and waited as patiently as he always does.

When it arrived, we both got inside, turned to face the front as the doors closed, then Gibbs hit the much-used emergency stop switch.

"Ziva…" Gibbs started.

I stopped him. "I do not need to hear it, Gibbs," I told him. "I know this is not how it was all supposed to go. I know I should not have gotten emotionally involved. But I will not apologize."

"I was going to say I'm sorry this is so hard on you. I watched you with those kids. Anyone else would have thought they were your own. You looked so happy with them," he said. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes at his words, knowing they were all true.

"They felt like my children," I whispered, not knowing if Gibbs heard me or not.

I felt his hand on my shoulder. And then he pulled me into a Gibbs hug. They we're very different form Abby hugs, Gibbs just didn't squeeze the life out of you. They made you feel protected. Like a father's hug.

"It's gonna be okay, Ziva," he said and let me go. He hit the switch again and the elevator came back to life. I wondered idly when the elevator was going to break. Emergency stop switches are not meant to work as much as Gibbs uses them.

When we got back to the Bull Pen, McGee got up, putting his phone down. He came over to the elevator quickly. "Boss, Abby found something," he told Gibbs.

"Okay, tell her I'll be down in a minute," Gibbs said and walked off to get Abby's Caf-Pow!

McGee and I went into the elevator and he pushed the down button. I felt like I had to say something about how nice he had been.

"Thank you, Tim," I said. Nobody every calls him Tim except Abby and Ducky.

"For what?" he asked.

"The numbers with all the information and the way you are always nicer to me than anybody," I told him.

"It's no problem, Ziva," he said as we got off. "You'd do the same for me."

When we walked into the lab, Abby was waiting for us. "Ziva!" she exclaimed and ran at me, hugging me tightly around the neck when she reached me. "Oh my God! I miss those kids so much! I know you and Tony miss them more because you knew them longer and they lived with you and everything! But the day they were down here with me, we had such a great time! And your face and Tony's face when they left!" she said, too loudly into my ear. And it all hit me over again; Rachel and Max were not here. I felt a lump in my throat, though I was not sure if it was from sadness or the fact that oxygen was becoming scarce in my lungs.

"Um, Abby, I cannot breathe," I told her.

"Oh, sorry," she said, loosening her grip.

"What cha got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked, striding into the lab. None of us had heard him come down. It was creepy when he did that. Even I cannot do it that quietly.

"Depends, Gibbs. What cha got for me?" she asked, talking back in the way only Abby can. Anybody else would have gotten a head slap.

"You know what I have, but you don't get it till you tell me what you found," Gibbs told her.

"Somebody's pushy today," Abby said and started explaining what she had found to Gibbs and McGee. I was not really paying attention. I think they were talking about the bullet that had entered the skull of the body. I was not even sure of his ranking.

I looked up about a minute later and noticed that Gibbs and McGee were starting to leave. I went to follow them, but Abby grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"Hey, are you okay? Okay, that was a stupid question. I know you're not okay. Okay, I just wanted to tell you that if you need to talk, I'm down here, okay?" she said.

"Thank you, Abby. I will be okay," I told her. She just hugged me again, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. After about ten seconds, I said, "Abby, I have to get back to work." And I disentangled myself from her.

"I'm here," she reminded me as I walked out.

I pushed the button for the elevator and waited for it to arrive. When it did, I got in quickly and pushed the button that would bring me back to the squad room. When I got out there, I saw two empty desks where Gibbs and McGee sat. Tony was at his desk, though.

"Where are Gibbs and McGee?" I asked Tony when I had walked the few meters from the elevator to our group of desks.

"MTAC being briefed about something. I wasn't really paying attention," he said.

"Me either. I have not noticed what I have been doing all day," I confessed to him.

"Gibbs said that when you came up, we could leave. There aren't any leads that are getting us anywhere and he's gonna send McGee home soon," Tony told me. I looked at the clock for the first time all afternoon. It was already 2030.

"Okay, you are driving me home, yes?" I asked. This morning, we'd taken only his car to work.

"Of course. You can grab your stuff and we'll go," he said, standing up and gathering his things. Two minutes later, we were in the elevator.

It was a quiet ride to my apartment. Tony had the radio on low and we were not talking.

When we pulled up in front of my apartment, I did not want to get out of the car. It was warm there and it was cold outside. But I knew I had to, so I pulled myself together and put my hand on the door handle.

"Thank you for the ride, Tony," I told him.

"It wasn't a problem, Zee," he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, see you," I said. I grabbed my bag and opened my door. The chill went right to my bones. The door was not far away and I hurried toward it. I opened it and walked the flight of stairs up to my apartment. I opened the door, flicked on a light, took my shoes off, and put my bag down by the door.

My apartment felt different now, less lively than it had this weekend. It was only me now, rather than me, another adult, and two children. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, my head hitting it with a light thump.

I sighed and walked further into my apartment. Everything was how we had left it this morning. There were more dirty dishes in the sink than there had been when I lived alone and the bread was still on the counter from where Rachel had left it this morning.

I could still practically see them all in the apartment. I could picture Max and Tony on the couch and when I glanced down the hall, I could imagine the light on in Rachel's room and I felt like if I walked down there, I'd find her spread out on her bed, reading a book.

I walked down the hall to my room and turned the light on in there. I decided to take a shower because I had not felt like it this morning. I took longer than I usually did; just letting the water hit my back and hair for a while. When I did get out, I wrapped myself in a fuzzy blue towel and went into my room. My pajamas were just where I'd left them this morning. I had thought Tony would take back his jersey and sweatpants, but I figured he had just forgotten them.

I almost did not put them on, then I thought better of it and slipped into them. I went into the living room and picked up my book. I had read a lot in the past couple days and I was almost done. It was not a very long book, so I only had a few pages left.

When I was almost done, my phone went off, indicating I had a new text.

It was from Tony. It said: _Hey, can't sleep. Can u?_

I answered: _Not really. Feeling a little restless._

He answered quickly: _It's weird to be home alone, huh?_

_Yes, I am not used to having such a quiet apartment anymore._ I wrote back.

_I'm not used to being home anymore. _He texted back.

I texted: _I am pretty tired. I am going to try and fall asleep._

He answered: _Okay, good night, my ninja._

I smiled as I typed back: _Good night, my little hairy butt._

After that, I went into my room and laid down on my bed. I had only five more pages left and I wanted to finish my book before I went to bed.

Ten minutes later, I finished it. I turned the light by the bed off and laid there, waiting for sleep to take me over. But I felt like I had just drunk ten Caf-Pows! And I could not fall asleep. I felt twitchy, like I had to get up and do something. Also, it felt weird to be in bed alone. I had gotten too used to Tony being there with me.

An hour later, I was still not asleep. I had not gotten up, thinking I would get lucky and sleep would mysteriously come to me. It had not. I wanted to talk to someone, but I figured they would all be asleep because it was almost midnight. But I remembered Tony had said something about catching a late movie tonight, so I decided to text him.

I said: _Hey, is your movie still on?_

He texted back in about thirty seconds saying: _No, it ended about half an hour ago. Can't sleep either?_

It was scary sometimes how good he knew me. I typed back: _No. I have been trying for over an hour. I feel like I have had a million Caf-Pows!_

He typed back: _It's weird not having u in bed next to me._

_Yes, that is another thing that is keeping me up._ I sent to him.

_Do u want me to come over? For one last night?_ He was good. Instead of asking to come over, he wanted me to ask him. Devious.

I thought about it for a minute. I did want Tony to come over, but I would have liked it better if he had just invited himself. I hated feeling weak.

My phone went off again. It was him again: _I'm getting in my car right now unless you say no._ He knew me _way_ too well.

I did not text back and neither did he, so I figured he was on his way here. I did not do anything to neaten up in the few minutes it would take him to drive here. He knew what the place looked like and he had not complained. His apartment was messier, so this looked relatively clean comparatively.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard my door unlocking. I was not concerned because I had given him a key when he had first started to stay here. I had not asked for it back.

It sounded like he put something down in the kitchen and then he came to the bedroom door. Though I live alone, I close my bedroom door at night when I sleep. It's a habit. I heard him knock.

"Hey, Zee, can I come in?" he asked through the door.

"Yes, Tony," I said. The door opened and he came in before closing it behind him. He kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed beside me.

"Hey," he said to me, laying his head on the pillow near mine.

"Thank you for coming," I said. For some reason, I was feeling tired all of a sudden.

"It's okay. I missed having someone to talk to," he confessed. "My place was way too quiet."

"Mine as well," I told him. We were very open with each other, especially these past few days. It was nice to have someone else around.

"Feeling tired now?" he asked.

"How could you tell?" I asked him.

"You're voice is getting slower and when you blink, your eyes are taking longer to open," he said.

"You are very observant tonight," I told him.

"Nah, I just know you," he said.

"Too well," I said, snuggling farther under the blanket. He pulled it up to my chin. We were not both laying under the covers together, facing each other. It was nice.

"Go to bed, my little ninja. We have work in the morning," he told me and he reached over the few inches between us and stroked my cheek. I shivered. "You cold?" he asked.

"A little," I told him.

"It's late, we should go to sleep," he said. He wrapped an arm around my waist and I nestled closer to him. My head was under his chin and at his height, our feet stopped at the same place at the end of the bed. He makes me feel short sometimes. I fell asleep easily with him there. It felt natural to me now.

When I woke up in the morning, I was still wrapped in Tony's arms. My head was resting on his chest and he had one arm around my waist, the other in my hair. He was awake.

"Good morning, sweet cheeks," he said to me.

"Good morning. What time is it?" I said. The clock was behind me and I did not feel like moving to look at it.

"Zero six thirty," he said lazily.

"Tony! We are going to be late! Why did you not wake me up?" I asked.

"Zee, we didn't go to bed till past midnight last night. You need your sleep. And we're not late, not the way you drive, anyway," he said.

"Do not say anything more against my driving, please, Tony. I need to get ready," I said, trying to get out of bed. Like the other day, though, he held me back.

"Ziva, you get up too insanely early in the mornings. You just need to relax a little," he said.

"I am relaxed. I like my routine. Tony, I really need to get ready," I snapped at him.

"Fine, but tonight, you're relaxing," he said and let me up. I quickly went into the bathroom and got in the shower. Tony would get up at his own pace, but I liked going through my morning routine, minus the run.

After my shower, I quickly got dressed and ready before leaving my bathroom and bedroom. Tony was out in the kitchen, dressed with a coffee in his hand and a mug in the other.

"Here, for you," he said, holding the mug out for me. It was my tea.

"Thank you, Tony. Now, come on, we have wasted enough time this morning. We have to go," I said.

Again, he held me back. "Zee, take your time. You can be five minutes late. Drink your tea, and then we'll go."

"Tony," I said, almost whining. I do not like being late and he knows that.

"Zee, come on! Be late for once in your life!" he said.

"Fine, but tomorrow, I am going in at my normal time and you will not be here to stop me," I said.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, sounding unconvinced.

When we got to NCIS, Tony and I walked into the Bull Pen to see Gibbs and McGee already there. McGee was on his computer and Gibbs was sitting at his desk drinking his customary coffee. As we walked over to our set of desks, Gibbs asked McGee, "You got it yet?"

"Almost, Boss. I just need a few more minutes," McGee told him.

"You two are late," Gibbs said, looking up at Tony and me.

"It was Tony's fault, Gibbs," I said.

"Won't happen again, Boss," Tony said, smiling when Gibbs didn't get up to head-slap him.

"Got it, Boss! The Corporal put systematic payments into the bank and they're all from the same account! I'm gonna go work with Abby on this and find out who it was," McGee said, getting up from his desk after a nod from Gibbs.

It was quiet for about a minute and then my cell phone rang. I did not know the number, but I picked up anyway.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ziva?" came a voice from the other end.

"Yes?" I asked. I could not tell who it was.

"It's Rachel," came the voice.

"Rachel," I said. "Oh, God are you okay?" Tony came over to my desk quickly. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to convey that I knew nothing.

"Yeah, we're okay. Max says he misses you and I do, too," she said.

"Sweetie, we miss you, too," I said. Tony put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, I just wanted to say that they found us a home, someone who wanted siblings. We got lucky," she said. She had no idea how lucky.

"Where?" I asked.

"Virginia," she said. "The drive was over an hour from where they had us last night."

"Okay, well, I miss you so much. Tony wants to talk to you. Call if you need anything, okay?" I said.

"Okay, Ziva," she said and then I held my hand over the receiver and said to Tony, "They're in Virginia, over an hour away. Rachel wants to talk to you." And I handed him the phone.

"Hi, Rache," he said into the phone. Followed by a "Yeah, I'm good," and an "Okay, say hi to Max for me," and a "Miss you, too, sweetie," then he hung up and handed me the phone. "She had to go," he told me.

"They got lucky, Tony," I said.

"Let's hope they stay that way. They're too far away, I'd like it if they were closer," he said.

"I would as well, but we'd never get visitation or anything, though. You know that," I told him.

"No, we wouldn't, but if they needed us, we're too far away," he said.

"Too far away from who?" came a voice from my left. We looked up and saw McGee looking very happy.

"Rachel and Max. What's up, McSmilie?" Tony asked.

"We got him. We got the guy. He was the guy we had in interrogation yesterday. It's a good thing we had the cops detain him overnight. Gibbs called the cops from the lab and they're taking care of him. We're free to go," he told us.

"Well, that was a short morning," Tony said. "You wanna go out to breakfast?" he asked me.

"Okay," I said. "Bye, Tim. Good job."

Tony and I walked back out to the car we had abandoned less than an hour ago. It was his. He had insisted on driving so that we would be even later to work than we already were.

He drove about five minutes to a small diner on some side street. There were two other cars in the parking lot. We got out of the car and I followed him inside.

A bell chimed when the door opened and a middle-aged man looked up from the counter. He got a big smile on his face when he saw us. "Tony!" he said.

"Lucca! How are you?" Tony went over and shook the man's hand.

"Good, good. Still hanging in there. Who's your friend?" he asked with a slight Italian accent, looking at me.

"This is my friend Ziva. Ziva, this is Lucca. He's known me since I moved out here. I was walking down a random side street, kinda lost, and I came across this place. Best breakfast you'll ever have," Tony said to me. He turned to Lucca. "Two plates of waffles and two orange juices, please," he ordered.

"Coming right up," he said and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Let's go sit down," Tony said, leading us to a booth under a window.

"So this is your secret breakfast place, yes?" I asked him.

"Yes, you now know all of my secrets, or most of them, anyway. Yet, I don't seem to know many of yours," he said, teasingly.

"Tony, you are an open book. Most people at NCIS know most of your secrets," I told him.

"And yet I don't know many of yours," he said. "Why is that?"

"Because I do not blab them to anyone who will listen," I said smiling.

"Tell me something about you that I don't know already," he asked.

"Um, okay, for years I was closer to my little sister than anyone else. She was my best friend," I said. It was an innocent secret. He did not need to know the bad ones.

"Really? You never really had a best friend besides her?" he sounded surprised.

"I had friends, but Tali and I were closest," I explained.

"Food!" Lucca said, coming over to our table with two plates loaded with food. He dropped those off and quickly came back with our drinks.

"Thank you," we both said to him and dug in.

The waffles were amazing. They were easily the best food I had had in a long time. I was just finishing my first one when Tony's plate was almost empty.

"_Chazer_," I said, watching him wolf down his food.

"Hey! Don't call me names in languages I don't understand!" he said, fake-pouting across the small table. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"Pig," I said, smiling.

"I resent that," he said.

"Well, sometimes it is true. Look at you. You cannot get that food down fast enough," I told him.

"Maybe it's because I'm hungry, Zee-vah," he said.

"Still, you could try to do it in a less-disgusting manner," I told him.

"I could, but I'm not gonna," he said.

"And why is that?" I asked him.

"Because I wouldn't have the eyes of the most beautiful woman in here on me," he said without a hint of sarcasm or a joke in his voice.

I did not say anything. What is a good response to _that_? I did not have one, so I stayed quiet and took another bite of the amazing waffles.

"Zee?" he asked.

I looked up at him. He was studying my face, as if he was looking for an answer. I did not know the question. "Yes?" I asked back.

"I do think you're beautiful. I think you're smart and funny and amazing and sexy… as long as you don't kill me for saying that," he told me.

"Tony," I said. But apparently he was not done yet.

"Zee, these last few days with you… I loved them. They reminded me of the movie nights we used to have, when Gibbs was MIA in Mexico and there was no one to stop us. I miss those. And, about what I said in Somalia, I meant every word. Not having you here taught me that I can't live without you and I don't want to," he finished. He had kept his eyes on me the whole time he was talking. Gauging my reaction.

I waited a few moments before answering him. "I miss our old movie nights, too. And these past few days… they were hard, but you were there to help me. I could not have done it without you. Last summer, all I wanted was to see you again. I wanted to apologize. When you left me in Israel, I felt betrayed, by everyone. That summer, I realized that it was not your fault. I am sorry, Tony," I told him. My eyes were starting to sting with hot tears, but they did not fall.

"Zee, you have nothing to be sorry for, it was partially my fault. And I know we shouldn't have left you there. I never forgave myself," he said. He reached across the table and took my hand. "I can't live without you, Ziva. I love you."

It was not cheesy. It was not a scene from a movie. It was real.

My mind was blank, then, flashes of memories filled it. I saw Tony on my first day at NCIS, flirting with me; Tony, staring at me from on top of me on our first undercover assignment; Tony, in charge of the team while Gibbs was in a coma in the hospital; Tony, on one of our movie nights at my apartment; Tony, helping save my butt while I was on the run from the FBI; Tony, when I knew I wanted him, but could not have him; Tony, when I saw him again after his car had exploded and we thought he was dead; Tony, with a broken nose, talking crazy in the Bull Pen; Tony, in Los Angeles after we lost Jenny; Tony, when he got back from being an Agent Afloat, just happy to be on dry land again; Tony, when he left me in Israel at the beginning of last summer; Tony, when he found and rescued me in Africa; Tony, in Paris. He was my life here.

"I love you, too," I said, and it was true. We'd grown from co-workers to friends to best friends over the course of just over four years. Now I felt something more. He had broken my heart, I had a feeling I had broken his, and we mended each other's as well. He knew me better than anyone here, and while I did not know him best, I would soon.

"Seriously? You don't even have to think about it?" he asked.

"No, I do not. I just know it," I told him.

He just smiled the smile I love. It lights up his whole face. "God, what's Gibbs gonna think?" he asked, not looking scared at the prospect of telling our boss like he should have been.

"I do not know. I do think you are in for the head-slap of a lifetime, though," I told him. I was smiling, though, I could not help it.

"What? Me? What about you?" he asked.

"Gibbs would never hit me," I said. "He does not hit ladies."

"You're probably right, anyway, sweet cheeks. The man does like to head-slap me."

"Why is that, do you suppose?" I asked him.

"Because I piss him off. Yes, I can get a laugh out of it, but in the end, he has the last laugh," Tony explained.

"And so do McGee and I. We both find it quite funny. If you would stop pissing Gibbs off, you would not have a constant pain at the back of your head," I said, reasonably.

"True, but I don't mind the pain so much anymore. I just get used to it," he said.

"Yes, I know what you mean," I said.

"Why are you in constant pain? Gibbs doesn't head-slap _you_," he said.

"I am not in constant pain anymore. I just know how you feel. You do not know what went on last summer," I told him.

"It's not hard to guess," he muttered mostly to himself, but I heard it as well. "Hey, you wanna head back to your apartment and have a movie marathon?" he asked.

"Okay," I said, livening up.

We finished, paid Lucca who told us to come back soon and left. We had to go by Tony's apartment so he could grab the movies before we went back to my place. He wanted to surprise me with the movies he chose, so he told me to wait in the car while he went in.

Ten minutes later, he came out with a grocery back with some movies and some other things in it. He put it in the backseat before getting in and driving to my apartment. I also noticed he had changed from his work clothes into sweats.

When we got back to my apartment, he grabbed the bag and we headed inside. I changed back into what I had worn to bed, then joined him on the couch.

"So, Tony, what movies did you bring?" I asked once I had sat down next to him.

"You're gonna love these! Okay, I brought The Proposal, Sherlock Holmes, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, The Blind Side, and my personal favorite 50 First Dates," he said.

"The Proposal? That does not mean anything like that is going to happen, right?" I asked. He knew I hated surprises.

"Nah, not tonight. It's an amazing movie with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. You'll love it!" he told me.

I did not say anything after that, but I thought about what he had said. _Not tonight_…

We started with Sherlock Holmes. Tony got very into it and it was an okay move. There were some funny parts. We then watched The Blind Side and the Did you Hear About the Morgans? Then we got hungry and decided to order lunch. We got Chinese food (go figure) and I insisted on paying because he had paid for breakfast.

As we ate, we watched The Proposal, which I loved, and then finally one of Tony's favorite movies, 50 First Dates. I loved Adam Sandler in it! It was awesome.

By the time we had finished watching 50 First Dates, it was almost eight o'clock. The day had flown by!

"Tony, do you want some dinner?" I asked. I was beginning to feel hungry. We had eaten at weird times today, so dinner was later than usual for both of us.

"Sure, do you still have any left-overs in the fridge?" he asked. We both ordered out a lot.

"Maybe. We could also re-heat some Chinese food," I said. He got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. After a second, I followed him.

We each made plates and Tony insisted on putting mine in the microwave first. I had s slice of pizza and some Chinese noodles and some refried rice on my plate. Tony had two slices of pizza, the rest of the noodles and some chicken. That almost cleaned out my refrigerator. I do not like to keep a lot of perishable food in the house.

As we waited for my food to be heated up, we both leaned on the counter next to each other. Standing next to him makes me feel short sometimes. He put his arm around me and bent down a little and kissed the top of my head. "I love you," he whispered into my hair.

Then, he bent down a little farther so that his face was almost at level with mine. Slowly, he leaned in. He did not want to push boundaries, so he waited to see if I would push him away or not. I did not and did not want to.

He put his lips on mine. It felt the way I thought it would- amazing. It started light, but it grew deeper. After a few minutes, I broke away from him. We were both breathing hard, both of us having forgot about the fact that we need oxygen to survive.

The beeping of the microwave made us both jump in the otherwise quiet of the kitchen. He took my plate out and replaced it with his. Then he turned to face me.

"I love you, Zee," he said and put his hand up to cup my cheek.

"I love you too, Tony," I told him.

He smiled, but it faded as fast as it came on. "Zee, will you tell me about it? About last summer?" he asked. I had not been expecting that question. Not now, anyway.

"Tony, I do not really want to talk about it. it was hard enough to live through once, I do not know if I could again," I told him honestly.

"I just feel so helpless, not knowing. I was a wreck, that whole summer, not knowing, and when we found out the ship you were on went down… it just hurt, so much," he told me. He wrapped his arms protectively around me and I melted into his embrace.

"I am sorry, Tony. It was a bad summer all around. I would rather just forget it. it is over," I said.

"Okay, promise me something," he said, loosening his grip, but still keeping me safely in his arms, and looking down at me.

"Promise you what?" I asked.

"Never, ever even _think_ about going to Israel and not coming back," he said.

I smiled up at him. "I promise, Tony. But you have to promise me something in return," I told him.

"Anything," he said.

"Promise me you will help get Rachel and Max back," I said.

"Promise. Cross my heart. I love you, Zee," he reminded me.

**A/N: So? What did you think? I worked my butt off on this chapter! Hopefully the next chapter will feature more of the kids, but I haven't quite decided how I want this to go yet. Feel free to put any comments or questions or things you might want to see in your reviews. Thanks, guys!**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Here I am, back again. I can't believe this is only chapter 4! It feels like it's so much farther along. Well, right now I'm on vacation and only have internet access when I go to the library, which isn't a lot because it's about a mile away (give or take) and I'm 15, so I don't have a car. But I make it work.**

**A/N 2: Now, mind you, with no experience or internet access to help me, I may not get everything in this chapter right. Yes, I do know how hard it is to adopt kids, what with the court and interviews and all of that fun stuff, but I'm no expert. Some of this may not be right, and I freely admit that. I won't be going to the library a lot and I really want to get this up ASAP. Thanks for all your support! Review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, its characters or its world. I own the plot line and Rachel and Max Shane and anything else that's not from the show. Thank you, DPB! **

**Three Weeks Later**

Ever since Tony and I had gotten together, we had been researching on adoption. We could not let Rachel and Max stay in foster care if we could provide a home for them, a good home. Tony had told me stories about when he had been a cop and he had taken countless kids out of unstable homes, and it scared me how much those cases reminded me of this one. We had not heard from them in over three weeks, ever since that call from Rachel, and we had no way to contact them. We did not have a right, either. We had no real tie to them that a court would see if we ever got to take the case that far.

The team was sitting in the Bull Pen and it was almost lunch time. Tony and I were planning on going out to lunch in a little while and he had told me he had a question for me. I had tried to be cool about it, but I was nervous. We had only had two cases since Rachel and Max left and neither had kept us busy for very long. After that first one, I started to pay attention to the world around me. I could not just let life pass me by. That was not in my training, I could not let myself slip. We did not have a case today, though we were all hoping for one. Not that we wanted another dead Naval personnel or Marine dead, but we wanted something to do.

"Alright, you can all go get lunch. Be back in an hour," Gibbs said to all of us. It was all we needed. I grabbed my purse and I saw Tony and McGee each grab their wallets and we all waited for the elevator together. Gibbs did not come with us.

"So, McGiggle, you and Abby going out to lunch?" Tony asked McGee. He and Abby had been going out to lunch a lot when work had been light.

"Tony, that's none of your business," McGee said as the elevator arrived.

"So you are! Where are you taking her?" he pressed.

"Tony, leave him alone," I said to him.

"Aw, come on, Zee, don't you want to know?" Tony asked me.

"No, I want you to leave McGee alone. I can easily get lunch on my own or with Ducky, if you would prefer not going with me," I said. Threatening to not spend time with him always made Tony rethink things.

"I'm sorry, Sweet Cheeks. McGeek, go have fun with Abby," Tony said.

We all got off the elevator and Tony and I headed for his car. Tony opened my door before he went around the car to let himself into the driver's side. He liked to claim that chivalry was not dead. I liked to say that I could open doors for myself, but secretly I liked it.

"So, where are we going?" I asked once we had started out of the parking garage.

Tony took my left hand in his right and we intertwined our fingers and rested them on the center console. "Well, I was thinking we could go get lunch and just talk," he said.

"Okay, but get lunch where? I like to know things," I told him.

"I'll tell you when we get there," he said, smiling at me before turning his attention back to the road.

"What is the point in that? Once we get there, I will know," I pointed out.

"Exactly, _bella_," he said.

"What, you think you can get out of everything by just complimenting me? It does not work that way," I said.

"We're here," Tony said. I looked up; it was the little diner Tony had taken me to right after Rachel and Max got taken away. "I hear they have the best waffles in town."

I smiled at him. "Yes, I hear the same thing."

Tony got out of the car and I sat somewhat patiently inside. He loved to open doors for people, especially me. And I loved it when he did. He opened my door, took my hand, and we walked into the diner.

As soon as we walked through the door, we heard a voice almost shout, "Tony! And you brought Ziva, too! Wonderful!"

We saw Lucca coming out from behind the counter. He was balding slightly, about Tony's height, in his late fifties. He had a kind face and dark brown hair. "What can I get you?" he asked.

"Same as last time, please," Tony said.

"I'll get it started," he said, going back behind the counter and into the kitchen. "Have a seat anywhere!" he called to us.

"Come on, let's sit over there," Tony said, pointing to a booth in the corner. I nodded and he led us over to it.

"You do not want to be overheard?" I asked him.

"Yeah, that coffee maker loves to gossip," he told me, smiling.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked him.

"Us," he said.

"What about us cannot be said in front of the gossiping coffee maker?"

"You know how we've been looking up ways to get the kids back?" Tony asked.

"Of course, Tony," I said. It is practically all we have been doing, besides working on cases.

"How many of the court cases have you read have been a single parent or an unmarried couple?" he asked.

I thought about it for a few seconds, mentally reviewing everything I had read. "None."

"Me either. And they'll investigate everything about us: our bank accounts, our salaries, our co-workers, our friends, our backgrounds. Everything. They'll ask about the two of us, what would happen if _this_," he said, gesturing between us, "didn't work out."

"I know all of this," I told him.

"I don't want to be unsure of the last question," he told me.

"You are unsure?" I asked, trying not to feel hurt.

"I didn't say I was, I said I didn't want to be."

"What does that mean? What is the difference?" I asked.

"Ziva, remember what we talked about the last time we were here?" he asked.

How could I forget? This was the place Tony had first told me that he loved me. "Of course," I said.

"Well, it's true. I can't live without you. My life is out of step, off balance, when you're not around. Last summer was the hardest part of my life that I've lived through, and I never want to have to do it again, because I don't think I can," then Tony got off his chair and onto one knee in front of me. "I've been trying to figure out how to do this and I couldn't think of a way. I knew you wouldn't want it to be public, but I couldn't just propose one night after dinner, like it was nothing. When you asked me a few weeks ago, when I brought those movies to your house, whether I was going to propose, I wanted to, but we had only just gotten together, and I didn't have a ring. So, I'm asking you now. Ziva David, I love you so much. Would you do me the great pleasure of marrying me?" he asked and pulled a small, black ring box from his pocket and opened it. The ring had a simple silver band with a diamond on top. Nothing too flashy, but very elegant. I absolutely loved it.

My eyes filled with tears and I didn't say anything for a few moments. Then I looked Tony strait in the eyes and said, "Yes."

Tony smiled the biggest smile I'd ever seen on him. He took my left hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly. Then he leaned in and kissed me.

We kissed for only a few seconds, then we heard Lucca yell, "Food's ready!" from the kitchen.

Tony sat back down in his seat before Lucca came out of the kitchen, but I had a feeling that Lucca had seen everything. I could tell by the smile on his face as he came out with the waffles.

As he put the plates down he said, "Congratulations to the happy couple!"

We both blushed and thanked him. He walked away, leaving us to our lunch. He came back a few minutes later with glasses of orange juice before retreating back into the kitchen.

"I wonder what Gibbs is going to say about this," I said after I had swallowed a few bites of the amazing waffles.

"Oh, he's going to say congratulations," Tony said confidently.

"Before or after the head slaps into next year?" I asked jokingly.

"Oh, we're not going to get head slapped. He already knows."

"What?" I asked.

"I wanted to ask permission, and I figured it was him or Daddy David. You're practically Gibbs' daughter, so I asked him. He asked if I was serious and I told him completely. Then he said 'Treat her well,' and that was it. I took it as a yes," he said smiling as he took another bite of waffle.

"Is Gibbs the only one who knows?" I asked him.

"Yeah. If I didn't have the ring, I would have gotten Abby to help, and then McGeek would have known. Hell, half the building would have known."

"You picked it out yourself?" I asked studying it.

"No, it was my moms. I got it polished and buffed, but it was hers," he said, also looking at it.

"It's very pretty, Tony. I love it," I told him.

He glanced at his watch and said, "We have to get outa here soon. Gibbs expects us back by one and it's twenty of."

We finished our lunch and he paid Lucca who told us to come back soon as we walked out the door.

We got back to the Bull Pen at five minutes to one and Gibbs was the only other one on our team there. I took my hand out of Tony's and walked over to Gibbs' desk.

"Thank you," I said to him.

"I don't wanna see anything in the office," was his response. Then he got up and came around his desk and stood in front of me. Then he did something you don't see much, he put his arms around me and gave me a hug. "Congratulations, Ziver," he said.

**A/N: Okay, yeah, that was short, but it had to be done. I'm going to camp starting August 1****st****, so I won't be updating till at least the 10****th****. Maybe sooner, but camp keeps me pretty busy. Same with **_**Another Scuito in the Family**_**. It'll be a while till that's updated too, but it'll be worth it. Promise. Thanks for reading, guys.**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey people! You missed me, didn't you? I know, I know, it's been months since this was updated and I feel horrible about it, really I do, but it's not like I was ignoring it. I tried so many times to sit down and write more, but the inspiration just wasn't there! One of my best friends has been yelling at me to write this for months and here it finally is! **

**So, this chapter is the wedding and I really hope you guys like it because I'm actually really proud of myself for this, so I hope you are too. I hope this chapter can surprise some of you and I hope you all like it! Please review, even if it's just a word or five. I really luv them and they give me inspiration to write more and at a faster pace. I'm gonna try to see how much more I can get out of this story line.**

**This is for Meghan. You're welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything affiliated with it or recognizable here. I do own this story line and all of the characters here that you don't recognize.**

"I can't believe you're getting married tomorrow!" Abby exclaimed for the thousandth time that day. "This is so exciting!"

We were at her house so that Tony would not see me before the wedding tomorrow. I thought it was a stupid tradition, but Abby insisted that since she was not allowed to throw me a bachelorette party, I would repay her by respecting this custom. Abby was my Maid of Honor, Tim was Tony's Best Man, Gibbs was walking me down the aisle, and Ducky and Jimmy were ushers. The only thing missing was the kids.

The good news was that they were coming. Tony and I had both really wanted them there with us, so Tim tracked them down and we sent them an invitation to the wedding. A few days after we sent it, we got a call from the people they were living with, asking if it was a joke. After assuring them that it was not, they said the kids both really wanted to come, but they wanted them back that night. The couple did not sound very pleasant, but at least they had allowed Rachel and Max to come. Ducky would be picking them up in the morning and Tony and I would be dropping them off after the reception.

"Yes, Abby, it is very exciting, isn't it?" I said. I could not wait until tomorrow. "And I have some exciting news for you."

"What? Holy crap! Are you pregnant? Are you? If you are, I call first dibbs on Godmother!" she asked, her excitement building, if possible, higher.

"No, I am not pregnant. It's better than that. Rachel and Max are coming tomorrow!" I told her.

"Oh, my God! Ziva! How could you keep this from me? Oh man! I can't wait to see them again!" she screamed.

"I cannot wait either. It was supposed to be kept a secret until tomorrow, but I thought you would want to know," I said.

"Oh, God, Ziva, that's amazing. And your friends are flying in from Israel! I can't wait to meet them!"

A few of my friends from Mossad were flying in and so were some of my friends from high school and college and two of my cousins were coming as well. I had already seen a few of them, but most had later flights, so I would not see them until tomorrow. Abby had not been with me when I went to pick up my cousins, so she would have to wait until tomorrow as well.

I laughed. "I cannot wait for you to meet them. I have not seen some of them in years."

"And you get to meet Tony's friends. Some of those boys are _very_ cute! Being former frat boys and all," Abby put in.

"Abby, I am getting married tomorrow. I have my own frat boy. I do not need them," I said smiling.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about for you…" she said.

"Abby! You have Tim! The man adores you! He even leaves his stuff here," I said, pointing to his pile of clothes on a table in her room and a pair of sneakers by the door with her shoes and his toothbrush in the bathroom.

"I know. So, tell me about your friends!" she demanded.

"Well, there are eighteen people coming in from Israel. Two of them are my cousins from my father's side, Isaac and Isaiah David. Isaac is my age and Isaiah is two years younger than us. Our families grew up together and Isaac and I did our Mossad training at the same time. I have seven friends from Mossad coming. They are Aviv Luft, Amir Dunst, Jordan Sandler, Miki Rein, Micah Cohen, Sheli Walden, and Rafi Heckler. Isaac knows them all as well because we all trained together and grew close. We were not born family, but we are as close as it gets. One friend that I have known since high school is coming and her name is Tami Cohen and she is not related to Micah. Three of my closest friends from college are coming: Daniel Harris, Gabbi Meyer, and Varda Schimmel. And, finally, five of my closest friends from when I was little: Ariel Falker, Sarah Lux, Erel Friez, Aaron Koffler, and Shai Gold," I told her, ticking off people on my hand to make sure I would not forget anybody.

"Wow, those are some interesting names. You really have a Mickey coming to your wedding? As in Mickey Mouse?" she asked.

"Yes, but her name is Miki, spelled M-I-K-I," I explained.

"Oh, that makes more sense," she laughed. "Now I'm really excited to meet them! How come you've never mentioned your cousins before? Since you grew up like siblings and all?" she asked.

"I guess I just never had any stories to tell. Sure, they have always been in my life, but they were in my old life. The last time I saw Isaiah was at the… the funerals," I told Abby. "He and Tali were very close." It still hurt to talk about what happened, but I was not on the verge of tears anymore.

"Ziva, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Abby said, reaching over and gently squeezing my hand.

"It is okay, Abby. It is in the past. The one thing I wish, though, is that she could be there tomorrow, standing beside you and me," I said and my voice began to wobble. "She would have made fun of me, laughing saying it was the only time I was ever going to wear a dress and for everyone to take lots of pictures," and my voice cracked.

Abby moved the small distance between us on the couch and wrapped her arms around me. Only a few tears fell, but Abby just held me. It was so… Abby.

"Do you wanna talk to Tony?" she asked me.

"No, I am fine. I am sorry. I do not know what came over me," I apologized.

"Zee, its fine. If you can't cry in front of your friends, who can you cry in front of?" she gave me a tight squeeze and let go and shuffled back the few inches so I had some space again.

Then my phone went off, informing me that I had a text. It was just past ten on a Friday night. "Who could be texting me at this hour?" I asked out loud. Abby shrugged and handed me my phone from the table in front of the couch.

It was Tony. The message said: _Open the front door._

"Who's it from? What does it say?" Abby asked me.

"It is from Tony. It says, 'Open the front door'," I said.

So Abby bounded off the couch and all but ran to the front door. I heard it open and she yelled, "Ziva!"

"I am coming," I said and got up and walked around the corner to the front door. Tony was standing there, smiling at me. I was wearing a white camisole and oversized flannel pajama pants that I taken from him.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Abby said and left us standing at the front door.

"Hey, beautiful," Tony said, moving the few inches between us and wrapping his arms around my waist. I put my arms around his neck and breathed in his scent that was purely Tony that I loved.

"Hi," I said.

He pulled back and studied my face. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" he asked. Even if I only cried a little, my eyes get very bloodshot, so I bet I did not look that great right about then.

"I am fine, Tony," I promised him.

"Really? Then, how come you were crying? My Ziva doesn't cry over just anything. Can you just please tell me?" he pleaded and led me into the kitchen and to Abby's table where he sat down on a chair and pulled me down on his lap.

"Abby and I were talking about tomorrow and my cousins and how the five of us grew up as siblings. I told you that Isaac and I are the same age, yes?" I asked.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with you crying?" he asked, confused.

"His brother, Isaiah, and Tali were the same age. Talking about him led to talking about her and what she would say if she could see me tomorrow. I do not really know why I was crying, now that I think about it," I said, resting my head on his shoulder, loving the way he held me. He knew what I liked.

"Zee, baby, it's okay to cry. She was your sister and you loved her and took care of her. And she loved you, I know it. I bet she's in heaven, smiling down at you. She's your guardian angel," he said.

"So, Tony, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Tim," I said.

"Oh, yeah, well, I know the rules say I can't see you before the wedding tomorrow, but they say nothing about tonight," he said, smiling cheekily at me.

"So is that your way of saying you missed me?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"You could have just said that over the phone or something. Do not get me wrong, I love that you came all the way over here, but we will see each other in less than fifteen hours now and we will have the kids for a day," I reminded him.

"Sshh, not so loud, Abby's probably listening at the door," he said.

"Oh, well, I kind of already told her that Rachel and Max are coming," I said guiltily.

"Well, Ms. David-for-the-last-night-of-her-life, I should get back to the apartment. I'm sure you and Abby will have a great rest of the night. I'll see you at the church at one," he said and we both got up.

"I will be the one in white," I said and we both laughed.

He kissed me, gave me a final hug, and then he left. As soon as the door closed behind him, Abby came running out of her bedroom.

"Feel better?" she asked, hugging me tightly.

"Yes, I do. Did you know he was coming?" I asked her.

"Nope! But it was a nice surprise, huh? You are so lucky! Tony is one of a kind!" she exclaimed.

"Yes…" I said. "He is. You know, Abby, Tim is not that bad of a guy either," I pointed out.

"Trust me, I know. I love him, now I just need him to feel the same way," she said. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but it was taken over by a smile. "Now, onto a different subject. Tell me about your friends!" she all but demanded.

"Okay, well…" I said, trying to think of a good story. "There was this one time I was on a mission with Rafi. He was posing as a waiter while I was observing the café from a tree across the street. We were in Paris and I do not know exactly how it happened, but Rafi somehow managed to shoot himself in the ass with his own tazer," I laughed, recalling the memory.

Abby laughed too, "Oh God, that's funny. Was the mission blown after that?"

"We had a back-up team in place, so it was covered up quickly. They were already inside the café, so as Rafi fell to the floor screaming the first time, one of them _accidently_ spilled his coffee all over Rafi's shirt. I do not think anybody noticed anything other than the coffee," I smiled.

"Poor guy! Oh, man, he must have been so mad!" Abby was still laughing.

"He was not very happy about the hot coffee all over him, but the mission could have been compromised if we had not had the back-up team," I said.

"Do you have any other good stories?" she asked me.

"Yes. Okay, so when I was eight or nine, I was obsessed with writing and I had a journal where I wrote everything down. Well, one day, Ari came into my room and stole it from me when I was writing in it. I did not want him to read it, so I chased him all around the house. When we got to the dining room, I was turning a corner and I kicked the table so hard, I broke two of my toes on my right foot. He gave the journal right back. Two days later, I was hanging with my friends and Shai accidently stepped on the two broken toes. I almost screamed, it hurt so bad. And then Aaron yelled at her for 'stepping on the cripple!'" I told Abby. We both laughed at that.

"Oh, God how long did that nickname last?" she asked.

"About four years. I did not like it," I said.

"Any other good ones?" she asked.

"I could tell you how I finally dropped the nickname 'The Cripple'," I offered.

"Okay!" she said. "Wait! We need popcorn for this!" And with that, Abby jumped off the couch and jogged into the kitchen. Less than thirty seconds later, I heard the microwave start up. After the pop corn was ready, Abby put it in a bowl and came back out. She put the bowl on the couch between us and said, "Okay, I'm ready now!"

"Okay, so it was my freshman year of high school and I had made a new friend, Tami, and we had a few classes together. She was a bit of a klutz. She ran track and one day she came in and said she had hurt her leg. She was scheduled to get an x-ray the next day. The next day she came in with her leg in a walking cast. She sat down next to me and told me that on her way down the stairs that morning, she had fallen and broken her ankle. As long as my other friends and I have known her, she has always been hurt somehow. She effectively took on the nickname 'The Cripple' with a smile," I said, clearly remembering the day she came into class and told me the story. She had not found the humor in it until I had laughed so hard I had cried.

"Okay, that's a good one too!" Abby said. "You and your friends don't seem to have the best of luck."

"No, as far back as I can remember, one of us always had something wrong. Tami usually won with the most injuries, though."

"Any more good ones? I'm loving this! I've heard, like, zero stories from your past!" Abby said.

"Yes, one more good one that I can think of. So, we are all juniors in high school and a famous movie star had come to town. I do not remember which one, because Tel Aviv was a very popular place for celebrities. So, anyway, Ariel, Sarah, Erel, Aaron, Tami, and I all skipped school one day and walked about six miles to get to the mall from school. We did not tell anybody we were going, we just went. Of course, with our great luck, it rained a little that day, so we were all a little wet when we got there. But it was the most fun any of us had had in a while. Shai refused to go because she did not want to get in trouble. The funny thing is, Sarah's mom had gone too and we ran into her when we got there. We all expected her to call our parents and we would be grounded for weeks, but she said we had gone to get us all autographs and she would have offered us a ride if we had told her. We did not even get in trouble," I told Abby.

"Wow, that's really cool. My parents would have flipped if I ever tried that. I was a troublemaker when I was younger, but I never skipped school," she said.

"I have never forgotten what Sarah's mom did for us that day. We always thanked her whenever we went over her house. Her funeral was almost has difficult to go through as my own mother's was. Sarah's mom helped raise me and Tali after my mother died and my bother left. We were always welcome there. Sarah and I were very close and I try to call her whenever I can to say hello," I said.

"Ziva, I'm sorry. She sounds great and I would have loved to meet her and I can't wait to meet Sarah!" Abby said in a rush.

"It was a lifetime ago, yet sometimes it feels like it was yesterday," I said. Then I yawned. "Abby, it is getting late, I think I am going to go to sleep," I told her.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. We have to be well rested for tomorrow!" she said.

We both got up and started to take the couch apart. It was a pull-out couch and it was my bed for the night. Abby grabbed some sheets and blankets from the hall closet and we made the bed. I collapsed onto it after it was made. This past week had been crazy, making and double-checking all of the last-minute arraignments for the flowers, the guests, the church, the reception hall, the center-pieces for the tables, and everything else. It had been stressful, but we managed it somehow.

Abby turned out the living room lights and said, "Good night! Don't let the bed bugs bite!" before going into her room and shutting the door, leaving me to my thoughts. I mentally ran through everything that was going on tomorrow: we had to be up by seven to leave to get our nails done at seven thirty, and then we had hair appointments at nine, then we had to come back to Abby's house and get ready for the twelve o'clock wedding. The reception was at the hotel where most of the people who were flying in for the wedding were staying and that was from one o'clock to five thirty. Tony and I had to have Rachel and Max home by eight, so we planned to change after the reception and take them out for ice cream before we had to drive them home.

For our honeymoon, we were spending a week in Hawaii, which was graciously paid for by Tony's father. We had not told him that we were getting married, but he "heard it through the grape vine" and sent us the plane tickets and the hotel reservation with a note saying how sorry he was that he would be out of the country for the wedding.

I must have dozed off sometime or other because the next thing I knew, Abby was jumping on my bed yelling, "You're getting married today! Time to get your butt out of bed! ZIVA! Let's get this show on the road already!"

"Abby, I am up. Please stop jumping on me," I pleaded with her. She was already dressed and ready to go.

"Okay, but it's already quarter to seven and we have to be there by seven fifteen if we can possibly get in early," she said.

"Okay, okay, I am up," I said, getting up off the bed. "Can you make some-"

"Coffee? Already on the counter and in a cup for you," she said, interrupting me and pointing to the counter.

"Thank you," I told her, giving her a grateful look before going into the bathroom to get ready. I stared at myself in the mirror. _I am getting married today_, I thought to myself. I could not help smiling. In just over five hours, I was going to be Mrs. Anthony DiNozzo Junior.

I quickly dressed in a bright blue tee shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. I would change later, but for now, I just wanted to be comfortable. I put my hair back in a ponytail at the back of my head and then left the bathroom.

I put the clothes I'd worn to bed last night back in my bag that was next to the couch and then went into the kitchen. I picked up my coffee and took a few sips of it. Even though she didn't drink coffee regularly, Abby made it really well.

I was putting on my sneakers when she came back into the room. "Hey, Zee! You ready to go?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen. She was wearing black skinny jeans, her 'I Love Nerds' tee shirt, and her combat boots. Typical Abby.

"Abby, shouldn't you wear flip flops? You do not want to mess up your toenails," I said. I had my black flip flops in my hand.

"Yeah, they're in the car already. They have been for a while, like, weeks," she said. "I don't wear them a lot."

"Okay, well, I am ready," I told her.

"Great! Let's go!" she exclaimed, too happy for this early in the morning.

For the next three hours, Abby and I got our fingernails, toenails, and hair done. We pulled the Hearse back into its parking spot in front of her building just before ten thirty. We had two hours to finish getting ready and go to the church.

We were doing our own make-up, and we had already decided that I was going to do Abby's first, so that I wouldn't be messing with it while I was in my wedding dress. Abby's dress was a beautiful shade of purple and had spaghetti straps and it fell just below her knees. Tim and Gibbs both had ties that were the same color. My dress was floor-length, had straps that almost covered my shoulders, and a full back that hugged my figure then flowed out at the waist. It was nothing too fancy, but it was elegant. When I came out of the dressing room when I had first tried it on, Abby had nearly fainted. Then, when she had recovered, she had yelled loud enough for the whole store to hear that I was so beautiful and we were done looking for dresses, because why should we try to top perfection? I was relieved that we were done; it was the fourth dress and I had been dragged unwillingly to the store. We had found Abby's dress the day before. This was three weeks ago.

Tony and I both knew that we wanted a small, intimate wedding. And we did not want to wait a long time to have it. He had proposed at the end of March and the whole team had sat down and we picked a date together. Tony and I obviously got most of the say, but we wanted to schedule around Abby's bowling tournament and Tim's book-signings and everything else people had going on. We finally settled on the first of May. It was a Saturday and the weather was supposed to be good. And so far today, it was.

We had also chosen to get married in Tony's church. I had to take a few classes to be "educated" about his religion in order to be married there, so I did. We could have chosen a different church, but I knew he wanted it to be in his own. He did not go to Mass often, but when he did, he always came back to this parish.

Abby and I finished getting ready and were back in her Hearse by twelve. Tony and I did not want to get a limo that brought us to the church, but Tony, Tim, Gibbs, Abby, and I were all leaving the church in two limos, and then the rest of them were getting a limo back from the reception to get back to the church, where they were leaving their cars.

I was nervous, but I could not figure out why. I loved Tony and I knew he loved me, so why should I be nervous?

"Hey, Ziva, you okay?" Abby asked from my left, momentarily taking her eyes off the road to look at me.

"Yes, I am fine. Just…" I said, trailing off, not knowing what to say.

"Nervous?" Abby finished for me.

"A little," I said, sighing. "I know he loves me and I love him, so why am I feeling this way? It does not make any sense!"

"Of course it makes sense! Ziva, you're getting _married_, you're giving your heart away. I'd be worried if you weren't nervous! You can love someone with all your heart and then some, but getting married is a huge step. But let me tell you something, you and Tony _belong _together. You two complete each other. We've all seen this for so long! I can't believe it took you two this long!"

I just stared at her for a second. "What do you mean, you have all seen it? Saw what? What was there?" I asked her.

"What was _there _she asks? Ziva David, what _wasn't there_? You two have been dancing around each other ever since you became partners!" she exclaimed.

"We have been friends, that is all, Abby," I said.

"Well maybe for you, but I know Tony's liked you for a long time. But we're not going to talk about that. Honestly, you and Tony are my best friends in the whole entire world and you two deserve to be happy. You deserve each other. Rachel and Max helped you see that. I'm so grateful to those kids. When will they be here?" she asked, jumping from one subject to another the way only Abby can do.

"They are coming with Ducky, so they should be here already," I told her. Then, I saw the church come into view. It was built out of stone, millions of them covering the concrete base. It was a beautiful church, one I had loved instantly the moment I saw it.

As Abby pulled around back, I saw some people standing outside that I recognized. I saw my cousins, Isaac and Isaiah, talking with Erel and Tami. I also thought I spotted Miki in the crowd, but I was not sure. Abby and I got out of the Hearse and walked into the church through the back doors, as to avoid the crowd.

We walked down a hallway to where the room where we would wait was, and were met by Gibbs. He smiled when he saw us and led us into the room, putting an arm around both of our waists. When we got there, he hugged us and told us how beautiful we looked. He looked very nice as well, his purple tie matching Abby's dress.

"Is Tony here yet?" I asked him, knowing I could not see him, but just wanting to know he was here, close-by.

"Yes he is. Ducky got here about ten minutes ago with the kids too," he said reading my mind.

"How are they?" I asked. "Have you seen them?"

"They're okay. They want to see you," he told me.

"Can you bring them in?" I asked him. I wanted to see them so bad. My heart still ached whenever I thought about them. I did not know how I was supposed to give them back to their foster family tonight. It hurt too much to think about it.

"Sure, I'll go get them, be right back," he said and then he was gone, closing the door behind him.

"Abby, is there any water in here? I am so thirsty," I said. I needed something for my hands to do. I was a little less nervous now, but I just really wanted this part to be over and for Tony and I to be happy and surrounded by our friends.

"Yeah, there's some over here. You okay?" she asked, handing me the bottle.

"I am fine. Really, Abby," I said, standing under her intense stare.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I called through it. The door opened revealing Gibbs, Max, and Rachel.

"Ziva!" I head Rachel all but yell and then she was running into my open arms. I had had enough sense to put the bottle of water down when the door opened, so I was ready for the hug. I clung to her, just as tightly as she clung to me, trying not to cry. I had missed this girl so much.

"Rachel, how are you?" I asked, pulling away slightly so that I could see her face. She too was trying not to cry. I knew she had missed us, but I did not realize how much.

"I'm okay. I missed you and then when you called to invite us to the wedding I was so happy for you! I didn't know you were engaged!" she said.

"We were not, when you were with us. It was not until after," I told her.

"Hi, Ziva," came another voice, younger and male.

"Hi, Max," I said, walking the few steps over to him and pulling him into a hug too. For a six year old, he was very strong, I noticed as he hugged me back. I noticed that as soon as I released Rachel to hug Max, Abby came right over and threw her arms around Rachel.

"I missed you so much! I kept asking if I could call you, but Mrs. Allen said that we shouldn't bother you, so we only got to call the one time," he told me, hugging me, if at all possible, closer.

That made me really want to cry. "When you get home, tell Mrs. Allen that Tony and I said that you can call whenever you want. We will always pick up the phone, I promise," I said.

"Okay," he said, wiping his eyes with his hands. I walked over to one of the boxes of tissues in the room and handed him one. I put him back on his feet and got a good look at both him and Rachel. Max was wearing the same suit that he'd worn to his father's funeral and he had his hair combed back. Rachel was wearing a blue, strapless dress that stopped at her shins and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail at the top of her head. They both looked really good.

Then there was another knock on the door. It opened before I said anything, which was fine, because it was Gibbs. "Hey, Ziver, you ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said.

"Okay, well Duck's here to take Rachel and Max to go sit down inside, so let's go," he said and the four of us left the room. Before Abby and I left, we grabbed our flowers that we were going to carry that had been placed in the room for us.

When we stepped out into the hall, I saw Ducky; he was wearing a suit similar to Gibbs'. "Ziva, you look beautiful," he told me as he hugged me.

"Thank you, Ducky," I said.

"Well, Rachel, Max, and I all have front-row seats, so we'll see you in there," he said, leading the kids down the hall and into the church. I heard the faint voices of the crowd before the doors shut behind him so that the other people would not see me before it was time for the wedding to start.

As we were walking towards the doors, one of the wedding coordinators came up to Gibbs, "The groom and best man are ready to start whenever you are."

Gibbs nodded to him. "We're ready too," he told him.

"Okay, just give me a second to cue the music and then I'll give you a nod when to go," he told Gibbs and I.

"Sounds good," Gibbs told him.

The man nodded at Abby to go and the doors opened briefly to let her into the Sanctuary and then closed again. "You ready?" the man asked us not too long after.

"Yes," Gibbs told him.

"Great, go on then," he said.

The doors opened to let Gibbs and me into the Sanctuary. The church was very big inside, with a red carpet going down the aisle. The pews were made of dark mahogany and, since it was sunny outside today, the stained-glass windows were all lit up along the walls. The guests were all standing, and they didn't even take up half of the pews. They were all in the first five or less rows.

But it did not matter how many people were there, I did not even notice right away. I had eyes only for Tony. He was up at the front, standing in front of Tim and a few feet in front on Abby with the biggest smile on his face. I knew my smile was just as big. Tony looked good in his tuxedo. It was just your typical black pants, black jacket, white shirt, and white tie, but he pulled it off so well. And he was all mine.

When Gibbs and I got up to the altar, Gibbs handed me to Tony with a very serious look on his face. "You hurt her, DiNozzo, and you don't even want to know what I'll do. Understand?" he asked Tony.

Tony's smile didn't even falter. "Yes, sir," he said.

"Don't call me sir, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. Then he kissed me on the cheek and went to go sit down next to Ducky.

"Ladies and gentleman, please be seated," the priest said from my left. He was relatively young for a priest, probably in his mid-forties. I had seen much older priests and definitely much older rabbis in some of the synagogue's I used to go to in Israel. "We are gathered here today to join two souls in holy matrimony."

And, to be honest, that was the last I heard of the service until Tony and I exchanged vows. We repeated the typical ones because we had both decided that writing our own would be cheesy. And then we shared our first kiss and Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo. I was so happy then.

Nothing could have ruined that moment.

Not even my father.

Though he tried.

As Tony and I broke apart, there was a commotion outside the doors. There was shouting and the doors flew open, presenting Director Eli David in the flesh.

Air flew from my lungs like I had been punched. Why was he here? How did he know? We had kept him entirely out of the loop, telling everybody who we invited from Mossad to keep it quiet. They had all complied, and I knew none of them had spoken a word. They were my friends, they would never betray me like this.

"Ziva, what is this?" he asked, walking down the aisle as though he owned it.

"What does it look like, David?" Gibbs asked, infuriated, getting up to face him.

"It looks like my daughter is getting married without her father's consent," Eli said.

"Well, you're wrong. She had consent. Mine," Gibbs said. "Now, since we cleared that up, leave. Now."

"Gibbs, you have no power over me. You cannot order me around," Eli said. By this point, I was pretty much on the verge of tears. Tony pulled me close as it all went on.

"Gibbs may not have a lot of pull, but that doesn't mean I don't, Eli. Leave now before I make a call that would ruin your life," Vance said, coming to Gibbs' aid. Tony and I were not his biggest fans, but we had to invite him. And now we were both thanking God that we did. Vance had enough pull to get Eli out of here fast, with or without force. He knew enough secrets about Eli.

Eli seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then he came to his senses. He knew how much Vance had over him, he also knew what kind of call Vance could make. "This will not be the last time we talk about this, Ziva," he said and then he walked out, like he had just stopped in to say hello. The church was silent when he left. I breathed a sigh of relief into Tony's chest, so thankful that nothing else had gone wrong.

Vance broke the silence. "Well, that could have been worse." Everybody laughed. The music started playing again and, as though nothing had happened, Tony and I walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm, with Tim and Abby behind us.

We formed a line outside and everybody came though, hugging us and wishing us well and saying how unfortunate it was that my father had tried to ruin my marriage. All of my friends that came by hugged me and said that they missed seeing me. All of Tony's friends congratulated him in a low voice before slapping him on the back.

When the last of our friends came though, Gibbs, Tony, and I talked for a few minutes about the encounter with my father, and then our two limos pulled up in front of the church. Tony and I got into the one in front, waving to people on our walk down to it, and Gibbs, Tim, and Abby climbed into the one behind us. Ducky was going to bring Rachel and Max to the reception hall in his Morgan.

We were the first ones to arrive at the hall, and the photographer met us there. It wasn't really a reception hall, but a country club, so there was grass all around us and we were on top of a hill, over-looking the golf course.

The photographer took a lot of pictures of Tony and I, Tony and I with Gibbs, Tony and I with Abby and Tim, Tony and I with Gibbs, Tim, and Abby, and probably about twenty more, all in different places and different poses. When Ducky arrived, we asked if he would take one with Rachel and Max with us. He agreed. We took a few with them, some funny, some posed.

When we were done taking pictures, we all sat outside on the deck, waiting for everyone to arrive. We sat with the kids as long as we could, but they had to go inside so the DJ could introduce the wedding party.

We heard the music start up and Gibbs, Tony, Tim, Abby, and I all got up from our seats on the deck and got ready to go in as we were introduced. We heard him start and got ready for our cues. "Hello ladies and gentleman, how are we all doing on this fine day? Well, here comes the wedding party of our very own Mister and Misses Anthony DiNozzo Junior! To start, we have the Best Man, Mister Timothy McGee!" and with that, Tim walked in to applause. "Next we have the Maid of Honor, Abigail Sciuto!" Abby walked in, leaving Gibbs, Tony, and I outside. "Now we have the Father of the Bride, Jethro Gibbs!" Gibbs walked in, leaving just Tony and I. He took my hand and held on, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Now, last but certainly not least, we have who you've all been waiting for! The Bride and Groom, Anthony and Ziva DiNozzo!" we walked into the hall with all of our friends clapping and cheering.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, it's time for the bride and groom's first dance, so can we please clear the floor?" Abby, Tim, and Gibbs all went and took their seats as the music started. Tony put his arms around my waist and I put mine behind his neck as we swayed to the Rod Stewart song.

_Have I told you lately that I love you?_

_Have I told you there's no one else above you?_

_Fill my heart with gladness_

_Take away all my sadness_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

_For the morning sun in all its glory_

_Greets the day with hope and comfort, too_

_You fill my life with laughter_

_And somehow you make it better_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

"I love you, Ziva DiNozzo," Tony whispered in my ear. I had let him choose the song we would dance to and I really liked his choice. I had listened to it before today and I had loved it then. I loved it even more now. It was how I felt about Tony and I knew it was the way he felt about me too.

_There's a love that's divine_

_And it's in yours and it's in mine like the sun_

_And at the end of the day_

_We should give thanks and pray_

_To the one, to the one_

_Have I told you lately that I love you?_

_Have I told you there's no one else above you?_

_Fill my heart with gladness_

_Take away all my sadness_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

This was exactly what he did for me. When I had come back to America last summer, Tony had helped me feel better. There was no one else better than him for me.

_There's a love that's divine_

_And it's yours and it's mine like the sun_

_And at the end of the day_

_We should gives thanks and pray_

_To the one, to the one_

_And have I told you lately that I love you?_

_Have I told you there's no one else above you?_

_You fill my heart with gladness_

_Take away all my sadness_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

_Take away all my sadness_

_Fill my heart with gladness_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

_Take away all my sadness_

_Fill my heart with gladness_

_Ease my troubles, that's what you do_

The song ended. I realized that I was a bit teary-eyed. It was not usually like me to get like this, but today had been an emotional day.

"Alright ladies and gentleman, give it up for the bride and groom!" the DJ said and there was more applause. "Now can we get the rest wedding party on the dance floor?"

Abby, Tim, and Gibbs all came out onto the dance floor and the second song of the afternoon started playing. I started out dancing with Tony and Abby with Tim.

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder_

_You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger_

_May you never take one single breath for granted_

_God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed_

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean_

_Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

_I hope you dance_

_I hope you dance_

And then I was dancing with Tim and Abby with Gibbs. Tim gave me a tentative look before putting both hands on my waist, but I took no hesitation putting both of my arms behind his neck. When no head-slap from Tony came, he relaxed a little. I smiled at him.

"You look nice, Tim," I told him.

"You look beautiful," he complimented back. "I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to you today."

"I know, it has been crazy."

_I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance_

_Never settle for the path of least resistance_

_Living might mean taking chance, but they're worth taking_

_Loving might be a mistake, but it's worth making_

_Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter_

_When you come close to selling out, reconsider_

_Give the heavens above, more than just a passing glance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

_I hope you dance_

_(Time is a wheel is constant motion always)_

_I hope you dance_

_(Rolling us along)_

_I hope you dance_

_(Tell me who)_

_I hope you dace_

_(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)_

_(Where those years have gone)_

I then found myself in Gibbs' arms. I smiled at him. I had been happy when he had been introduced as father of the bride, rather than just pseudo father, because he was a father to me, much more than Eli ever was. He proved that today, by storming in and interrupting my wedding.

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean_

_Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

_Dance_

_I hope you dance_

_I hope you dance_

_(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)_

_I hope you dance_

_(Rolling us along)_

_I hope you dance_

_(Tell me who)_

_I hope you dance_

_(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)_

_(Where those years have gone)_

The song ended and everyone applauded. The DJ then announced that dinner was going to be served soon. We all went back to our seats.

Half an hour later, after everyone had been served and eaten, Tony and I cut the cake. It was funny, smashing cake into each other's faces and everyone was laughing by the end. After everyone had cake, the DJ started playing music and, little by little, the crowd made its way onto the dance floor. There were only about fifty five people there, about twenty from Tony's, twenty from mine, spouses, and friends from work. It was intimate enough.

Tony and I started making our way around the room, taking to some people who were still sitting or who came over to talk. The first two people were my cousins, Isaac and Isaiah.

"Ziva!" Isaac greeted me with a hug. The two of us had been close when we were younger. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm great. How are you? Mossad doing well without me?" I asked, then hugged Isaiah.

"Mossad is a wreck without you," he joked. "We all miss you over there. But I hear you are doing just fine on your own."

"NCIS treats me well enough," I said. then I realized that Tony had no idea who these people were. "Oh, I feel so stupid. Tony, these are my cousins, Isaac and Isaiah," I told him.

"Ah, Zee, you've never been stupid. I'm Tony DiNozzo," Tony introduced himself, shaking both of their hands. "So what side are you from?" he asked.

"Eli is our uncle, but we are nothing like him," Isaiah told him.

"So, cousins, huh? Any interesting stories about Ziva?" he asked.

"Uh, Tony, this is not story time. Look, there is Miki. I have not seen her in a long time. Let us go say hi," I said, dragging him away. "I will see you two later," I said to my cousins. They just smirked as I pulled Tony away.

"Well, look what the dog dragged in," I said jokingly when we made it over to Miki. She was facing the other way, but turned around when she heard my voice.

"Cat," Tony said instantly correcting me. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Miki and I ignored him.

"Ziva," she said, smiling me and hugging me tightly. "I have missed you," she told me.

"I have missed you as well. Where is your husband? I was hoping to meet him," I said. She had gotten married two years ago and I had not been able to get time off work to attend. I had also never met him. All I know about him is that his name is James.

"He could not make it. He is away on a business trip, but he really wished that he could have been here. So, you are Tony," she said, turning from me to my husband.

"Yes, and I have no idea who you are. I'm sorry," Tony said.

"I am Miki. Ziva and I have known each other for, what has it been, eight years?" she asked, briefly looking at me.

"About. Eight or nine. I have lost track," I said.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Tony asked.

"Mossad. Miki started after me, but she is very good," I said.

"Thank you. I like to think so. But you were the best," she told me. I couldn't deny it, I had been pretty good. You were either good or you were dead.

"Thank you so much for coming, and I am really sorry I could not make it to your wedding. I tried, but I could not get the time off," I told her.

"It is no problem. The next time you get some time off, come and visit if you want to. There is always room for you in our home," she said.

"I may take you up on that someday," I told her, giving her a hug. "I will see you later, I have lots of other people to say hello to."

The next person was one of Tony's friends, Scott. "Hey, Scottie!" Tony greeted him, slapping him on the shoulder in greeting. "Glad you could make it!"

"How could I miss your wedding, Tony? I had to meet the girl who got you to change your views on marriage," he said smiling. Then he turned to me. "Tony always used to say that he'd never get married, that he didn't believe that anyone would work out. We all thought he was gonna be a player for the rest of his life."

I just laughed. When I had first met Tony, I thought the exact same thing. "I think this is a shock to both of us. I'm Ziva," I said, holding my hand out to shake.

"Scott. I was Tony's roommate freshman year at OSU. Crazy times, huh man?" he asked. He and Tony shared a laugh.

"It's good to see you again. We need to hang out sometime," Tony told him.

"Definitely. We'll be in touch. I'll let you go, seeing as you have about fifty more people to talk to," Scott said. We both said goodbye and headed off to talk to someone else.

We talked to a few more people and then went out onto the dance floor where Rachel was dancing with Tim and Abby had Max. I felt bad for not seeing them for so long, but they were in good hands.

We danced with them and, when we got tired, got some drinks form the bar and went to go sit down. We all talked for a while then got up and danced some more. We introduced them to a few people and then, before we knew it, it was six thirty. People started to filter out around six forty and then almost everyone was gone by seven. Tony, Rachel, Max, and I all said goodbye to the rest of the people who still remained and then we left. We changed into street clothes and climbed into the limo that Tony and I had taken to get there.

"So, we don't have to have you two home for a little while, so where do you want to go? Do you want to go get ice cream or… I don't know, you two pick," Tony said.

"Ice cream sounds good. We didn't bring any money though," Rachel said.

"What, you think we would make you pay? Please. We got it covered," Tony said. "So, who wants ice cream?" Everyone raised their hands.

When the limo driver dropped us off at the church where Tony's car was, we all thanked him, grabbed our bags from the back, put everything into Tony's car, and went off to go get ice cream. Since it was just about seven o'clock on a Saturday, the ice cream place was a little busy, but we got in and out fairly quickly. We had to eat the ice cream in the car because we had to have the kids home by eight. We just made it.

When we pulled up in front of their new house, we all got out of the car to go get their bags from the back. Then we all hugged ten times each. Each hug broke my heart a little more, especially when we had to let go. We told them to call us whenever they wanted and that we couldn't wait to hear from them.

The kids were greeted at the door by a woman in her late fifties who had a scowl on her face. She sheppard the kids inside and closed the door sharply behind them.

"I miss them already," I told Tony as we got back in the car and headed home. Our flight for Hawaii left at six am the next morning and Tim was going to pick us up to drive us to the air port at three thirty.

"I know, I do too," he said. "I really liked your friends. I didn't know what I expected, but I didn't expect them to be like that."

"My friends and I differ on some levels, but we are very alike at heart. But yes, some of them are more like Abby, very open," I agreed.

"Yeah. So what did you think of that lady, Mrs. Allen? She seemed strict, huh?" he asked.

"She did. I wonder how she treats them," I said. "I really hope they are in a good home. Tony, I cannot even bear to think about if they are not. But I have to worry about them, because if we do not, who will?"

"Zee, baby, don't think like that. Maybe she was just being strict because she didn't know us and we could have drugged the kids up or given them alcohol. They _were _at a wedding. I'm not saying we would ever do those things," he said quickly when I gave him a glare, "I'm just saying that's what she could be thinking."

"We would never do that," I said. "But I did not like the look of that woman. Do you think we should have Tim check her out?" I asked.

"Well, she has to be decent enough to become a foster parent, but yeah, I want her checked out too. We'll tell McHacker in the morning," he said.

We talked for the rest of the ride home about the wedding and our friends, not mentioning Eli. I was so mad at him, though. If he had the nerve to try and mess up the happiest day of my life, what didn't he have the nerve to do?

**A/N: Okay, so what did you guys think? Worthy of a review? I hope so. I want at least 10 or there won't be an update for a while, so let's do this people! Please, please, please leave a review! They make me really happy!**

She thrives on reviews people, please, leave her some. Kay Thanks! Love Gibby.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back again! I know it took me forever and a half to get this written, but I've been so busy I haven't had enough time! I also haven't been extremely inspired to write this for a little while. But I'm back nonetheless. I honestly think this has been my favorite chapter to write so far! I loved it! Please review! I want to know what you thought of it! I need some feedback!**

**Just so everybody knows and wont ridicule me on it: I have no idea how the legal system works. I freely admit that. There will probably things in this chapter that could never happen and/or would never happen in the real world, but this isn't the real world, so it's not my fault.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything affiliated with it. That all belongs to DPB, without him, we'd never have any of it. I do, however, own anything unrecognizable in this chapter as well as the rest of the fic.**

"Probie!" Tony exclaimed as we walked into the Bull Pen on Monday morning. We'd gone to Hawaii for a week and had gotten back on Saturday night. Tony had not been dealing well with the jet lag yesterday, but he had seemed alright this morning.

"Hi, guys. How was Hawaii?" McGee asked us as we walked to our desks.

"It was great! Where's the Boss-man?" Tony asked.

Before McGee could answer, there was a cry of, "Tony! Ziva! You're back!" and then I saw Abby running our way as fast as her boots would allow. Tony stood up and was engulfed in a big hug from Abby. As soon as he was released, Abby came over to my desk and I stood to receive a hug too. "Oh my God! I missed you guys so much!" she exclaimed in my ear, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

"We missed you as well," I said, smiling.

"So did you two get out to see the islands or did you spend the whole time in the hotel?" she asked, smiling wickedly at us.

"We got out a lot, actually. The beaches are beautiful and we walked around the island a few days," I told her.

"We even brought back presents," Tony interjected. He pulled a bag out from behind his desk. "For the second most beautiful woman in the room," he said and pulled out a small box and handed it to Abby.

She opened it and gasped. "They're beautiful!" she exclaimed. We had found skull earrings with red gems in the eye sockets and had both decided that Abby would love them. They also came with a matching ring and they were all stainless steel. We each got another big hug before Tony reached back into the bag for the present we'd gotten McGee.

"For my favorite Probie Wan Kenobi," Tony said and handed McGee a wrapped box.

"I'm afraid to open it," McGee said, holding the box slightly away from himself as if it might explode.

"It is perfectly safe, McGee. Do not worry," I told him.

Tim opened the box and started laughing and then Abby did too when she saw what was in the box. "Where did you guys manage to find those?" she asked.

Tony and I had been walking down a street lined with tourist shops one afternoon and had picked a random one to walk into. In the back of the store, Tony started laughing for no apparent reason. When I asked what was so funny, all he could do was point to a box in front of him. It had all of the action figures from Star Wars, only with a twist; they were all wearing Hawaiian clothing instead of what they had worn in the movies. "We are so getting that for McGee," he had said. I had to agree.

"We found them in a tourist shop and we decided to get them," I told Abby. "Tony could not stop laughing when he found them."

"Thanks, guys," McGee said, still smiling.

We all jumped when we heard a voice from behind us. "Get me anything?" We all turned and saw Gibbs, smiling slightly, ever-present cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hey, Boss! Did ya miss us?" Tony asked.

"Missed one of you," he said.

"As a matter of fact, we did get you something," I said, smiling, knowing he did miss both of us.

Tony reached into the bag again and pulled out a coffee mug that said 'I Love Hawaii' on it. "We weren't sure what to get you," Tony said. "We figured you could keep it in the basement for when you have guests."

"Thanks," he said and walked over to his desk and placed it next to his unused computer.

When we realized he wasn't going to be talking again, Abby turned to me, "So, did you take lots of pictures like I asked?"

"Yeah and I brought my camera with me too," I told her and got it out of my bag to show her.

"Awesome! Gibbs, we'll be downstairs!" Abby told him, got a firm grip on my left upper arm, and started dragging me towards the elevator.

"Abby, I can walk," I laughed.

For the first time in a while, when the elevator stopped at the floor of the lab, everything was quiet, there was no music.

Abby got another chair and we sat down behind the desk in the second room of her lab. I plugged my camera in and we waited a few seconds for it to register.

When the pictures popped up, Abby gasped. I had to admit, the pictures were pretty good. The first few were pictures of us individually on the beach, on towels and beach chairs, the sun shining down on us.

In the seventh one, one of the other people on the beach had taken a picture for us; Tony was standing behind me and had his arms wrapped around my middle and was leaning down so we were the same height. It was a really good picture of us.

"Ziva, I love that one!" she said, indicating the first picture of the two of us.

"I do too," I said.

We flipped through some more, more of me, Tony, both of us, the cool things we'd seen. Then we got to my favorite one. It had been taken at sunset on the beach and the sky behind us was red and orange and yellow, reflected in the water behind us too. We were both wearing white; I was in a white dress and Tony had on a white shirt and tan khaki shorts. Tony stood next to me with one arm around my shoulders and I had an arm around his waist. It had been taken on Friday night, out last night there and it was definitely my favorite of all the pictures taken.

"Wow. That picture's amazing," Abby told me. "Look at the two of you!"

"It is my favorite. Can you print me two copies of it?" I asked her.

"Sure, no problem," Abby said. "But I'm printing three, cause I want one too."

"Go for it," I laughed.

Abby and I went over the rest of the pictures and just sat around catching up over the next hour until Tony came down and told me that Gibbs had stuff for us to do. When we were in the elevator going back to the Bull Pen, Tony wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. After a few moments, he pulled back slightly and said, "That's the longest I've been away from you in a week."

I smiled at him. "I know. I brought you something," I told him.

"What?" he asked.

I handed him one of the two pictures in my hand, "It was my favorite picture and I thought you would want a copy."

"Thanks," he said, kissing my temple just before the door opened.

We walked out of the elevator and sat down at our desks just as Tony's desk phone started to ring. "Special Agent DiNozzo," he answered. I was wondering vaguely who it was when Tony looked over at me with wide eyes and an angry expression mixed with a little confusion on his face. "What do you mean?" he asked, barely concealing his anger. I got up and walked over, worried now. I couldn't tell what was wrong and Tony wasn't saying anything to give me a clue. "Can you put her on?" and paused for a few seconds before saying, "Rache? Baby, what happened?" That was when I started panicking. Rachel was supposed to be at school right now. Where was she calling Tony from? Tony let her talk for a few moments and then said, "Can you hold on for a sec, sweetie? I'll be right back."

Tony put his hands around the mouthpiece of the receiver and closed his eyes, looking distressed. "What happened, Tony?" I asked hurriedly. My heart was racing.

"Rachel's teacher noticed some bruises on her arm a few weeks ago and asked her about them. Rachel said it was nothing; she'd been clumsy and fallen in the shower. Ever since then, she's noticed bruises here and there, but Rachel kept telling her that she'd tripped or fallen or walked into something. Today, Rachel was complaining of stomach pains and asked if she could talk to her teacher in private. They were in the bathroom and Rachel lifted up her shirt so her teacher could see her stomach. It was all purple, Zee," Tony said quietly, as if in shock.

I put my hands up to cover my mouth, trying to conceal a gasp. My hands started shaking and the rest of my body followed. Tony put the phone down on his desk and stood up, wrapping his arms around me, holding me close and very tightly, not that I was complaining. Sometimes, you just need to be held.

I didn't hear Gibbs get up, but I felt a hand on my shoulder; I didn't need to turn to know it was his. "Do you need back-up?" he asked.

"No, we got this," Tony told him.

"Well why don't you get back on the phone with her and ask where she is. Get the address and get out there," Gibbs said.

"Can I talk to her?" I asked Tony. He loosened his arms enough for me to reach over to the phone on his desk. I took a deep breath before saying, "Rachel, tatelah? Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Ziva! I wanted to tell you, when we saw you, I really did, but I couldn't!" she said quickly, as if I would me mad at her. She sniffled and I knew she was crying. I was close myself.

"I understand why you did what you did. There is no need to explain yourself. We are coming to get you. What is the name of your school?" I asked her. She told me and I relayed the information to McGee, who quickly typed it into the computer.

"Trip's about fifty minutes," he told me.

"Rachel, we will be there in about half an hour, okay?" I told her. "We are going to fix everything, I promise."

"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said. "Wait; hold on, my teacher wants to talk to you."

I waited a second and then there was a new voice on the line. "Hi, this is Rachel's English teacher, Ms. Lucas," the voice from the other line said.

"Ziva David, NICS," I told her.

"Rachel stepped out, so is it alright is I ask you a few questions?" Ms. Lucas asked me.

"Of course. Whatever you need," I said.

"Why is Rachel calling people who work for the Navy? I don't understand how she knows you. Are you relatives or something?" she asked.

"Rachel and her brother have no relatives left. When her father died, Rachel and her brother were put under NCIS custody, because their father had been in the Navy. The two of them stayed with my partner and I until the case was over. They were put into foster care and ended up with those people because of it," I explained.

"So why did she call you? She couldn't have known you very long," she said.

"We got close, all four of us, and they know to call if they need us," I told the teacher. "We would do anything for the two of them."

"How do I know this is legitimate? I can't just release a girl, one who's badly injured, to just anybody. There are rules here, and you can't sign her out of school unless you're on her list. I don't see a Ziva David or an Anthony DiNozzo anywhere. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm trying to do the right thing," the woman said.

"I sympathize with you, Ms. Lucas, but we are not just anyone. This is one hundred percent legitimate and I would rather die than send her back to those people. Would you like me to have the Secretary of the Navy call you so that we can release her? I can make that happen if that is what you want. That girl means more to me than almost anything else, so please do not make this difficult," I said, not harshly, but with a warning tone in my voice.

The woman seemed floored. I had threatened her with calling SecNav; I think it would scare a lot of people. She recovered herself, though. "Ms. David," she started. I didn't feel like correcting her. "How about you come down here and we sort everything out then? Rachel really wants to see you and maybe we could talk things out calmly when you get here, alright? I'm not promising you anything, but we do need to talk and face-to-face is much more easy than talking on the phone. I'll see you when you get here. We're in the principal's office; the secretary will show you where it is."

"Okay, that sounds fair," I said, and it did. "We will see you in half an hour." I hung up the phone and looked at Gibbs. "I am sorry, but we need to go. Can you inform the director that we may need to bring SecNav into this?" I asked him.

"Ziva, I'll bring the president into this if that's what it takes to get them away from those people," he told me.

"Thank you, Gibbs," I said. "Tony, let's go."

The two of us grabbed our bags, Sigs, and badges and headed for the elevator. We got out and headed for Tony's car. He handed me the keys without me asking. We both wanted to get there as fast as possible and that would only happen if I drove.

When we pulled up in front of the school, we parked in the fire lane in front of the school, something that technically wasn't legal, but we weren't worried about getting towed right now. As we approached the front doors of the high school, the handicap doors opened for us.

We walked in and I saw the Main Office off to the left and we headed for it. The doors were open, so we just walked right in. The secretary looked at us as we approached. We got out our IDs and showed them to her.

"The principal said you were coming. Her office is this way," she said, getting up and motioning to us to follow. We walked down a hall lined with offices until we got to the end where a door said 'Mrs. Kent Principal' and the secretary knocked and opened the door.

"Hello. Come on in," a woman said from behind a desk. I assumed she was the principal.

Tony and I walked in and shut the door behind us. I looked to my right and saw Rachel sitting in a chair against the wall. My face lit up the second I saw her. "Rachel," I said happily and she got up and came over to hug me. She wrapped her arms around my neck in an almost Abby-like hug and held on tightly. Her head came to just under my chin and I rested my head on top of her, happy to have her in my arms, safe again.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Tony asked. Rachel laughed and let go of me after a few more seconds. She stepped over to Tony and threw her arms around him as well. Tony leaned down a little and hugged her to him. We made eye contact and I knew he was feeling the exact same way as I did.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Kent," said the woman behind the desk that I hadn't given a second thought about after I'd first noticed her.

"My name is Ziva David and this is my partner, Anthony DiNozzo," I said, not introducing Tony as Tony or my husband because I wanted to keep this as professional as it could be.

"I'm Ms. Lucas," a woman who I hadn't noticed before now said from Tony's other side. She was in her twenties with straight brown hair that she wore down just past her shoulders. She was about my height and she looked nice. Mrs. Kent was dressed professionally, in a blue pantsuit and had her hair up in a bun behind her head.

"Alright, let's get down to business," Mrs. Kent said, her attitude fitting with her position and attire. The four of us sat down, Tony, Rachel, and I in front of her desk and Ms. Lucas to the left of Tony off to the side a little bit. "So, Ms. David, Mr. DiNozzo, Ms. Lucas informed me of your relationship with Miss Shane and while I have sympathy with your position, you have to see how it looks from where I'm sitting. Neither of you have any relation to Rachel, neither of you are on her contact list, and Rachel is a ward of the state. That sounds harsh, but it's the truth. I can't just release her to you. I have to contact her social worker, but I wanted to talk to the two of you first. That's as reckless as I'm going to get here."

"Mrs. Kent, I see how this looks from your view, and, granted it doesn't look good for us, but we do have something going for us, at least a little," Tony said, trying to sound as professional as she had. "We're getting registered to become foster parents. With this particular case, and our place of employment, we could get it sped up, but we need a little time."

"See, we just got married, which will increase our chances, but it has not gone through yet, and we have only been married for just over a week. Even if we get it sped up through our work, it will take a few more weeks. But not even you can release Rachel and her brother back to the people who did this," I said.

"No, I can't and I refuse to send them back there. But I can't give them to you, either, no matter whether I want to or not," Mrs. Kent said.

"Well why you don't get the social worker down here. I have a call to make," Tony said.

"A lawyer won't help you in this matter, Mr. DiNozzo," Mrs. Kent said.

"I'm calling someone much better than a lawyer," Tony told her. He smiled at me before stepping out of the office.

Twenty minutes later, there was another knock on the door. It opened to reveal a woman in her forties carrying a briefcase. She looked around the room and kept her eyes on me as she came in.

"Ms. Tyler, come in," Mrs. Kent said. "Please, sit down," she said, gesturing to the chair next to me. Ms. Tyler sat down and Mrs. Kent turned to look at her. "So, as I explained on the phone, we're butting heads and we were hoping that you could help out."

"You really should have called me first," Ms. Tyler said.

"Ms. Shane was very adamant that we call Anthony and Ziva first," Mrs. Kent told her.

"Well, let's get on with this then. Why am I here? You told me you'd tell me when I got here."

"Were you aware that the Allen's are abusive?" Mrs. Kent asked her.

"No, I wasn't. I've put children with them before and they've been fine. Are you saying that they're abusing Rachel?" Ms. Tyler said, sounding as angry as I felt.

Mrs. Kent looked to Ms. Lucas to explain. "I noticed some bruises on Rachel's arm about a month and half ago, but when I asked her about them, she just said she'd tripped. I wasn't looking for more, but then about a week later, I noticed a few more. Then the next week, a few more. I felt I had to ask about them, but she wrote them off as nothing. Today, she asked if she could speak to me privately and she showed me her stomach, it's all purple and yellow with bruises, old and new," Ms. Lucas said. I reached my hand over and took Rachel's hand in it and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed it back, a few tears falling with it.

"Rachel, why didn't you tell me this?" Ms. Tyler asked her, leaning around me to look at Rachel.

"They told me not to tell anyone or they'd start hurting Max. They haven't hit him and I don't want them to start," she said, the tears coming faster now. I slid my chair closer to hers and wrapped my arm around her and she leaned into me. Tony took her left hand and held it. "I couldn't do anything," she said into my shoulder, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry, tatelah. I wish you would have called," I said into her hair.

"I couldn't. I'm sorry," Rachel said.

"Do not be sorry for something you could not have stopped," I said, stroking her hair.

"So, now we have to figure out what to do with Rachel and her brother, as they clearly can't stay there anymore," Mrs. Kent said, getting the conversation going again.

"Well, I know why Ms. David and Mr. DiNozzo are here, but I'm sorry. I can't release the children to them. They aren't registered foster parents or related to the kids. It's not within my power to give them to just anyone," Ms. Tyler said to Mrs. Kent and then turned to look at Tony and I. "I've seen you interact with the kids and you treat them just like parents and we've talked about you, both of them together and individually. I wish I could release them to you, really, I do, they adore you, but it's not within my rights. I'm sorry."

"How much convincing would it take you?" Tony asked.

"You can bribe me with millions of dollars, but I still can't do it," Ms. Tyler said.

"What if we got a recommendation from the Secretary of the Navy who's probably called your boss by now to work out a deal?" Tony asked her, trying not to let the smile show on his face.

"Um, I-" she said before she was cut off by her cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID and then looked at Tony. "I need to take this. Excuse me," she said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Tony, what did you do?" Rachel asked him.

"I had someone put in a call to our Director who called _his_ boss, the Secretary of the Navy, who put in a call to Ms. Tyler's boss, saying that you and your bother were in good hands with us and really, since your father was Navy and now this happened, you should be back in NCIS custody. That you were safer with us. He recommended Ziva and I personally. Coincidence, huh?" Tony asked, the smile growing bigger and bigger on his face.

I felt my face break out in a smile too and hugged Rachel a little tighter, relieved that this might actually work. The office door opened again and Ms. Tyler walked in, looking a little dumb-struck.

"What's the verdict, Ms. Tyler?" Mrs. Kent asked her.

"I was ordered, yes ordered, to release Rachel Shane and her brother to Agents DiNozzo and David immediately. I was also told to offer them the congratulations of the Secretary of the Navy on their marriage," she said, still looking confused.

Mrs. Kent smiled a little and turned to Tony and I. "Well, I can't argue with that. I guess circumstances have changed. Since Ms. Tyler is on the contact list, you two are welcome to Rachel with you when you leave," she stood up. "It was very nice to meet the two of you," she said.

Tony, Rachel, and I all stood too. "It was nice meeting you, too," I said. Mrs. Kent held out her hand to shake and I took it and then so did Tony.

Tony looked at Ms. Tyler. "How about we all go head over to Max's school and get the kids out of here?" he asked her.

"Sounds good to me," she said. "Follow me in your car. It's not too far from here."

"Wait, my stuff! I left it up in English," Rachel said. "And I have stuff in my locker too."

"Okay, we'll go up and get it then," I said. "Not a problem."

Twenty minutes, we'd emptied Rachel's locker, gotten her backpack from Ms. Lucas who'd hugged Rachel goodbye and told her she'd email her later in the week, and gotten back in the car. We'd given all of Rachel's school books to the principal who said she'd take care of everything and send us Rachel's transcripts to our apartment so that we could enroll her in a school near us.

We followed Ms. Tyler in Tony's car, with Tony behind the wheel this time, five minutes away to the elementary school where Max went. We all walked in the front door and Ms. Tyler made her way to the main office, the three of us in her wake. She told the secretary that we needed to speak with the principal right now and the secretary led us down a hall and to a door that said 'Mr. Bray' and she knocked. This was all so tiring, but I knew this wasn't the time to rest. I didn't know how this man would act with this strange array of people walking into his office, but I hoped he handled it half as well as Mrs. Kent had.

"Ah, Ms. Tyler. Back again, I see," the man I assumed to be Mr. Bray said as we all came into his office.

"Mr. Joseph Bray, meet Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David. We're here concerning Maxwell Shane," Ms. Tyler said, sounding more formal than she had with Mrs. Kent.

"What about him?" Mr. Bray asked.

"We are taking him out of school. He is coming back with us," I told him, butting past Ms. Tyler.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Ms. David, was it? It's the middle of the day and you aren't on his contact list," he said to me.

"Don't be so uptight. These two are more powerful than you are, I'm afraid. They called in the Secretary of the Navy," Ms. Tyler warned him.

"And how do you know that was legitimate?" he challenged. "They could have called anybody and had them pretend to be the Secretary of the Navy."

"It was legitimate. Now, please have Maxwell Shane called down or there's going to be a problem," Ms. Tyler told him. "You don't get a say in this, I'm afraid."

He scowled at her and then called his secretary and told her to have Max sent down. I was very impressed with Ms. Tyler, I didn't think she'd be on our side with this, or maybe she just didn't like Bray. That must have been it.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door and then it opened, revealing the secretary and Max. The little boy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw who was in there. "Tony!" he exclaimed and then launched himself at Tony. Tony caught him and picked him up in a bear hug. I smiled and waited for my hug, knowing it was soon coming.

Max was smiling ear to ear over Tony's shoulder when he saw me. "Ziva!" he yelled and wrestled Tony to get out of his arms. Tony handed him over to me and he hugged me with all his might.

I hugged him back and he felt right in my arms, like he was my own son. It had been the same with Rachel. But I knew I couldn't start thinking like this yet. We'd been cleared temporarily by SecNav to take care of them, but it was always a possibility they could be taken away again if we weren't cleared in time.

"How are you, Max?" I asked the boy as I set him back on his feet and he attached himself to Tony's leg.

"I'm good. Why are you here?" he asked us, looking between the three of us.

"We're taking you back with us. Would you like that, buddy?" Tony asked him.

"Seriously? We get to go back? Really? Rachel! Did you know we're going back with Tony and Ziva?" he said in quick succession, his little innocent eyes lighting up even brighter.

Rachel smiled at her brother. "I did, kiddo. Do you wanna go?" she asked him.

"Yes!" he said.

"So, Mr. Bray, I'll expect Max's transcripts by tomorrow. I'll be seeing you," Ms. Tyler told him and then ushered us all out the door. Rachel took Max's hand and Tony and I followed them out the door. Tony put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"Hey, Max, do you want to go get your backpack?" Rachel asked her brother.

"Okay!" Max said and started pulling his sister towards his classroom. "It's this way," he informed her.

When they had turned around the corner, Ms. Tyler turned to look at Tony and I. "That went better than I expected," she said.

"What's his problem?" Tony asked her.

"I have no idea. All I know is that I can't stand the man. Now, we need to talk about arrangements for Rachel and Max. Where will they be staying?" she asked.

"We have an apartment in Georgetown. It's big enough for the four of us. There are also schools in our district, some within walking distance," I told her. When we had gotten married, we'd moved Tony into my apartment because it was bigger and closer to work.

"Good. I'll be checking up on you all in a week. I'll bring their things from their house and school things with me. They're not going back to that place at any time. I'm also going to inform the police about everything that happened to Rachel. Do you think you could send photographs?" she said, touching on every subject that needed to be talked about.

"We will take them when we get them home," I told her.

We exchanged phone numbers and addresses while waiting for the kids to come back. She told us to call her if we needed anything else just as the kids came back around the corner.

"I'll see you all in a few days," Ms. Tyler told us all.

"Thank you so much for everything," Tony told her and held his hand out to shake.

She took it. "It was my pleasure. But I didn't do it for you, I did it for these kids," she informed us. I shook her hand and then she left, leaving the four of us in the lobby.

"So, what do you two want to do?" Tony asked the kids.

"Can we go home?" Max asked.

"Let's go. I think there are some people who are waiting to see you," I told them. Tony picked Max up and I put an arm around Rachel's shoulders and we all left and headed back to DC.

**A/N: Okay, so was it worth the wait? I'm really sorry about no updating this as frequently as I have in the past, but school keeps me insanely busy and this fic has really long chapters, so I can't just whip them out in three class periods. I'm on break starting Thursday and hopefully that means that another chapter of this will be up soon! **

**I'm going to try to update again before the New Year, but I want some reviews for this if that's going to happen! Even if they're just five words, I want to know what you think! What was your favorite line? Tell me stuff, people!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy 2011! I hope everyone had a great New Years! I myself spent it with my cousins who I do not see enough and we went snowboarding and it was a blast! I meant to write this chapter like, weeks ago, and I've tried to sit down and write it a few times, but it just didn't come to me. But I sat down this time and it finally came out! Of course, my fingers are freezing and I can barely feel them because my room is like 50 degrees (not lying), but it was all worth it.**

**Please review for this, guys! Reviews inspire me to write more! If anybody has any suggestions about where they want it to go from here, feel free to leave any requests!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything else recognizable in this fic. I do, however, own this story line, Rachel and Max Shane, and anything else that is not on the show!**

**This chapter is for my beta, gibby101, who pesters me about getting this fic update almost as much as I pester her about updating hers. You're the best! This fic would probably be a train wreck without you! No, that's a lie, it would be a train wreck without you! 3**

The drive home did not feel like it took the forty five minutes it did. Tony insisted on driving now that we had the kids in the car with us and we did not need to be anywhere soon. We called Gibbs on the way and told him to expect us sooner or later. He didn't have much to say, as per usual, but he said he was glad the kids were okay.

When we got back to DC, we stopped at a Chinese restaurant to grab some food and brought it back with us to NCIS.

When we got upstairs, Abby, Gibbs, McGee, and Ducky were all waiting for us in the Bull Pen. As soon as we stepped off the elevator, Abby came running over and enveloped Rachel in a huge hug, which Rachel reciprocated.

"Rachel! Oh my God! I missed you so much! Gibbs told me that you and Max were back, but he didn't tell me why! You know what, I don't care. I'm just so happy you're back!" Abby exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I missed you too, Abby!" Rachel said.

"And Max!" Abby said, releasing Rachel to look at the six year old. "Look at you! Have you grown since the last time I saw you?" she asked him, smiling and knelt to hug him too.

"Hi, Abby!" Max said.

Rachel gravitated back towards me while Abby was hugging Max and the rest of the team hung back for a minute, unsure of what to do. Gibbs had told Ducky what had happened and McGee knew because he had been there when we had gotten the call, but they had not wanted to upset Abby, so they hadn't told her yet. Rachel pulled me off to the side a bit.

"Do they know?" she asked me, looking saddened.

"Gibbs, McGee, and Ducky do. They did not want to upset Abby," I told her.

"Are you going to tell her? She's gonna find out eventually anyway. You might as well tell her," Rachel said, resigning herself to the fact that almost everybody knew what had happened. "I'm sorry, Ziva," she told me.

"Sorry for what, Tatelah?" I asked her, unsure of what she was apologizing for.

"For causing all this. I just wanted to go to the nurse and get some Advil or something, but my teacher wouldn't let it go, so I showed Ms. Lucas what happened, but I didn't think she'd call you, but there was nobody else. It's my fault that all of this happened. It's my fault that you had to come and get us," she said.

I sighed. Somehow, I knew this was coming. I saw so much of myself in here and I knew, if I was being honest with myself, that I would have said the same thing, had I been in her shoes. But I was different now.

I looked her in the eye. "Rachel, I want you to listen to me very carefully," I said and she nodded. "Tony and I would do anything for you. You are like my daughter, and we do anything we can for family. I just wish we knew about this sooner. I am so sorry you had to suffer for that long," I told her. I pulled her into a hug, my heart aching for her.

"Thank you," she said.

"Any time," I promised her.

When we stepped back into the group, everyone was all in a bunch, Max giving hugs to all the members of the team, Tony and Gibbs talking when they knew Abby wouldn't overhear, McGee smiling at Max while the boy told him and Abby a funny story. They were a big, dysfunctional family, and they were all mine.

Rachel and I joined them, falling effortlessly into place; me by Tony's side and Rachel near us. Tony's fingers intertwined with mine and I smiled at him.

"Hey, gorgeous. I'm starving. What about you?" Tony asked, leaning down so his head was level with mine.

"I am as well. Let us go sit down ," I said, starting to walk towards the desks.

Everybody gravitated over there with us, Rachel sitting down at my desk and Max on Tony's lap at Tony's desk across from mine. I stood near my desk and watched everything. Abby was going to stay until Gibbs kicked her out of the Bull Pen, but Ducky had to go back to the lab since Jimmy was not in today.

Abby went over and sat on McGee's desk in front of him and he leaned back in his chair as they talked. McGee was trapped and he knew it; he was just waiting for her to ask the unanswerable question, and it came all too soon.

"Timmy, I know that you know why the kids are back. Not that I'm objecting, I just like to know all the facts. Why are they back?" Abby asked Tim, giving him her usual stare as if trying to telepathically pick the answer out of his brain.

"Abby, I can't tell you that. It's up to Tony and Ziva," McGee told her. "I'm sorry."

"It's that bad?" Abby asked him, her heart sinking.

"Worse," McGee told her.

Abby turned her head towards us and looked scared, then she got off Tim's desk and came over to me on the other side of the Bull Pen.

"Hey, Ziva, can I ask you something? In private?" Abby asked me.

I looked at Rachel, both of us knowing what Abby would want to know. Rachel nodded, giving me permission to tell her. As Rachel had said, Abby would find out soon enough. "Sure, Abby," I told her.

The two of us walked around the corner, to the other side of the stairs where there was an empty space and then Abby turned to me. "What's up? Gibbs and Tony were acting suspicious and the kids are just magically back? Don't get me wrong, Ziva, I'm so insanely happy that they're back and I get to be Aunt Abby again, not that they ever called me that, but why now? Something's up and I want to know what it is!" she said.

"Had it been my choice, you would have known from the start," I started before hitting her with the heavy stuff. "Tony and I got a call from Rachel a few hours ago, right after I came up from the lab. She was calling from school because, long story short, she was being abused by her foster parents." I stopped and took a breath so that my voice would not squeak, no crack, when I said the next sentence, but it did anyway. "Her stomach is covered in bruises and I fear there may be more internal damage."

Abby gasped and moved just enough so that she could see Rachel, still sitting at my desk. Abby turned back to me with tears in her eyes. "Oh my God…" she said.

"Yes, it is quite horrifying. I could not believe it myself, that there are people in this world that could do that to a child, especially one like Rachel, who does not deserve any of it," I told her.

"What about Max?" Abby asked.

"Max is untouched, as far as I know. They told Rachel they would not harm Max if she kept her mouth shut. I am pretty certain they kept their word on that," I said.

Abby pulled me into a hug, something I desperately needed at that point. I felt like I was grieving for Rachel, even though I knew she was sitting just around the corner at my desk, safe and alive. But I felt like it was my fault for putting her though all of that. Tony and I had not done adequate background checks on the family they had been staying with. There must have been something that we missed.

"This isn't your fault, Ziva," Abby told me.

"How did you know that I am blaming myself right now?" I asked her.

"Because I'd be doing the same thing, even though I knew it was crazy. I know you must think, deep down, that this can't be your fault. It wasn't you and Tony who hit Rachel. It wasn't you and Tony who forced Rachel to live a lie and not tell anyone. It was you and Tony that saved her. Don't forget that. She needs you to be strong right now so that she doesn't have to be. You can do that much for her," Abby said.

I looked at her, knowing she was right, about everything that she'd said. "You are right, Abby. Thank you," I told her.

"I know you'd do the same for me, if the roles were reversed," Abby said. "Let's get back in there."

We only stayed at NCIS until dinnertime, and then Gibbs let us go. It had been a stressful day for everyone and he knew Tony and I were anxious to get the kids home and settled in again.

When we got there, we all collapsed in the living room, Rachel and I on the couch, Tony in his arm chair, and Max in Tony's lap. Max had gotten more attached to Tony then he had been before, I noticed. But it must be natural to him, having grown up with only his father.

Tony was the first one to break the peaceful silence in the room. "You have no idea how good it feels to have everyone back," he said to the room aloud.

"It's good to be back," Rachel said, examining the room, though it hadn't changed that much since she'd last seen it months ago. The only things that had changed were that Tony's DVD collection took up the wall across from the windows and that a few pictures had been added to the walls here and there around the room.

The four of us had dinner and watched movies and caught up for the rest of the night. It was so good to just have them back, it didn't matter what we did. We were a family. Not divided anymore.

**A/N: So, what did everybody think? Was it worth reviewing? I hope so! Please review, guys! I know this wasn't my best chapter and it was really short, but I'm pressed for time these days! School keeps me busy and I have to babysit my little brother and sister after school every day after school because my mom's working again.**

**Please review and tell me what you think! Anybody have a favorite line? Give me something, guys! I promise the next chapter will be longer!**

**The Lovely Beta piping in stating her favorite line was the very last two "We were a family. Not divided anymore."  
**

**:D**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey! I'm back! I know I said that I'd try to get this chapter up a while ago, but I sort of lost my muse, so I didn't write it until now. So, sorry about that. But it's up now! Be happy!**

**Okay, so this chapter picks up where the other one left off. Let me just say, it was a little tough to write. You'll see why. Please read and review, guys! It gives me inspiration to get more up! These next few weeks are going to be a little crazy, but hopefully I'll have more up soon within a month!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything else recognizable in this fic. I do, however, own this story line, Rachel and Max Shane, and anything else that is not on the show!**

Later that night, after the kids had gone to bed, Tony and I were lying on the bed in our room, his strong arms around me.

"Zee, how could anyone do that to a kid?" he asked me. It was all either of us could think about and this was the first time we'd been alone since this morning before work.

"I do not know, Tony," I told him, a tear slipping out of my eye. I had held back from crying all day because I did not want to cry in front of the kids, but now I couldn't stop the tears.

"It's okay, Ziva, it's just you and me here. You know I won't think any the less of you," he told me and kissed my forehead and I cracked, body-wracking sobs shaking my body as Tony held me close.

"So, how long do we get to stay this time?" Rachel asked me as we ate breakfast the next morning. Max and Tony were still asleep, but the two of us had been up, so I made toast.

"As long as we can keep you. The papers that will register us to become foster parents are still going through and we do not know how long that will take. Our Director said he would do what he could to speed up the process, but I do not know how much time that will take off," I explained.

"Oh," she said.

"Rachel, can I ask you a question?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said.

"There is a police report that is being filed against the Allens and some pictures of the bruises… they would be put in the file so that those people can never have foster children again. Do you think we could send some pictures to Ms. Tyler to give to the police?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Okay," she said.

"I was also thinking that maybe we should go to a doctor, just to make sure that nothing is too damaged, like your ribs or anything," I said.

"I'm okay, Ziva," she tried to assure me, but I wasn't about to take that as an answer.

"Rachel, I have to ask you a question that the police will want to know. I need to know as well," I said, my bottom lip starting to tremble.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Did they… hurt you in any other way?" I asked.

"No, they didn't," she said, looking down. I definitely would have called you if that had happened."

"I am so sorry, Rachel," I said, getting up from the table and walking into the bathroom down the hall.

"Ziva?" I heard a male voice behind me, a voice I would recognize anywhere.

"Tony," I said, my resolve breaking yet again. He wrapped me in his arms and stroked my hair while I cried myself out again. It all seemed like too much to bear, but I knew I could do it, and while the kids needed Tony and I, we needed them too. While we were all damaged in our own ways, we were far from broken.

"You alright?" he asked me when I had finished crying.

"Yes, I am okay," I told him. "I just had a conversation with Rachel that set me off again. I am sorry for being like this."

"Don't apologize for being like this. Ever. Ziva, I love you no matter what, and emotions aren't a bad thing. They don't weaken you, they help you build stronger bonds with those around you," Tony said.

"Thank you, Tony. I am going to bring Rachel to the doctor's today, just to have her looked over, to make sure nothing is wrong," I told him.

"Zee, can I ask what you asked her to set you off like this?" Tony asked me.

"I asked her if the Allens hurt her in any other way," I said.

"I've been thinking that way too. What did she say?" Tony asked me.

"No, they did not. It has been killing me since yesterday, wondering, but I could not bring myself to ask until today. It just hurt so much," I said.

"I know," he said. "Why don't we get out there? I'm starving."

"Of course you are," I said, smiling.

When breakfast was over, Rachel and I got dressed and I made an appointment with my doctor for her. It turned out that she had an empty spot at eleven and I took it, wanting to get Rachel in as soon as possible. It was nine thirty then, so we had an hour before we had to leave.

"Rachel?" I asked, knocking on her door.

"Come in," she said.

I closed the door behind me and sat next to her on the bed. "You have a doctor's appointment today," I told her. "It is at eleven, so we have an hour before we have to leave."

"Okay," she said.

"Rachel, are you alright? You have barely said anything today and yesterday you were quiet as well," I said.

"I'm fine. I think I'm just getting used to being back," she told me honestly.

"If you ever need to talk, I am always around. Or Abby is, if you would rather not talk to me," I said.

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"Um, Rachel? Do you think we could take those pictures now? So that they are still fresh?" I asked her.

"Okay," she said.

"Do not worry, I will not be intrusive. Just let me get my camera and I will be right back," I said.

I left her room and headed for mine and Tony's. I reached inside my backpack from work and pulled out my camera, which I kept in there. I went back to Rachel's room with it.

"You ready for this?" I asked.

She nodded and pulled her shirt up, just enough so that her small abdomen was uncovered. I winced when I saw it, all black, purple, and green in the spots where the bruises had started healing. I snapped a front picture, and one from each of her sides, where the bruises extended.

"That's it. They didn't want the bruises where anyone could visibly see them, after the weather started getting warmer. There used to be some on my arms, but they're all faded now," Rachel said.

I was amazed at how calmly she could talk about this, almost like it had happened to someone else. I knew she would tell me more when she could, but now wasn't the time for prying.

"I just have one more question, then I will go. Do you want me in the room with you when we are at the doctor's?" I asked.

"Could you?" Rachel asked me. "I didn't know if you'd want to go in there, so I didn't ask."

I smiled. "I did not know if you would want me in there. I have to warn you, she is going to ask some personal questions," I warned.

"They'll be things you'd want to know. This way, you don't have to ask," Rachel said.

"Okay then, if you feel that way. I just did not want to push you," I told her.

"Rachel Shane?" we heard the receptionist call out. The two of us stood up. "You two can go into room four," the woman said. Rachel and I headed down the hall and entered a white room with a desk, an examining table, and a chair against the wall opposite from the table. Rachel hopped up onto the table and I took a seat in the chair across from her.

"Are you nervous?" I asked her.

"Not really. It's just been a while since I've had anyone in the room with me when I've been at the doctor's," she explained.

"If you do not want me in here at any time while the doctor is here, just tell me and I will wait outside," I told her.

"Thanks," she said as a woman in her late thirties or early forties walked in. She had been my doctor since I had gotten back from Somalia almost a year ago.

"Hi, Rachel, my name is Dr. Connors," she said to Rachel, then she turned to me. "Hi, Ziva, how have you been?" she asked me.

"Good. I got married just over a week ago," I said, smiling, and showed her the ring on my left hand.

"Oh, congratulations," she said, smiling at me. "Now, I'm a little confused. Ziva, I didn't think you had kids."

Rachel and I both laughed a little at that. "I do not," I explained to the woman. "I am going to be Rachel's foster parent, but I think that is a conversation to have another day."

"I see, now, you asked if I could look at something on Rachel for you?" Dr. Connors asked me.

"Yes, I did," I told her. I looked at Rachel and asked, "Would you like me to explain?" She nodded and I continued, turning back to the doctor, who had taken a seat at her desk. "While Rachel was with a foster family, she was abused. Her abdomen is all bruised and I was wondering whether we could see if anything inside, like her ribs or organs, were affected," I said.

"Okay," Dr. Connors said and stood up. She went over to the sink behind the desk and washed her hands before turning to face Rachel. "Can I see them?" she asked Rachel.

Rachel lifted up her shirt so that the doctor could see them. Dr. Connors didn't flinch, she just asked Rachel if she could lie down so that she could see Rachel's stomach better. Rachel did as she was asked and then the doctor stood between Rachel's stomach and me, so that I could not see them. Rachel was looking at me while the doctor looked her over.

"Rachel, I'm going to lightly touch some areas of your stomach and I want you to tell me if I hurt you or not. I'm trying to assess the damage done internally, okay?" the doctor asked and Rachel nodded. "Does it hurt when I touch here?" the doctor asked.

"A little," Rachel said.

"And here?"

"Not really."

"And here?"

"Yes," Rachel said, wincing.

"Does it hurt a lot?" the doctor asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Only when you touch it," Rachel said.

"How about here?"

"Yes," Rachel said.

"The same as before?"

"Yes."

"And here?"

"Not really."

"Okay, you can put your shirt back down and sit up," the doctor said, walking over to her computer. "Now, since this is your first time here, I need to ask you some questions. Do you want Ziva to step out?"

"No, Ziva can stay," Rachel said.

"Okay, what's your middle name?"

"Ann," Rachel told her.

"Date of birth?"

"January 17, 1996."

"Do you play any sports?"

"I used to play basketball and soccer," Rachel said.

"Okay. Have you ever had sex?"

"No."

"Are you on any medications?"

"No, but I have a mild case of asthma. I have an inhaler, but I haven't needed it in years."

"Okay, why don't you take off your shoes and step on the scale? I'll take your height and weight and then we'll be almost done."

Once they did that, Rachel slipped her shoes back on and the doctor said, "Okay, the worst news is that you have a fractured rib, but it's nothing to worry about, really. You just need to take it easy for a week or two, and then you should be all set. There's this great cream you can buy and it makes the bruises heal faster. It's cheap and you can get it at any pharmacy. In a few weeks, those bruises should be gone. Any questions?" the doctor asked.

"I have none," I said. "Rachel?"

"Nope," she said.

"Great. How about we make a follow-up appointment in three weeks and we'll check the progress. Everything should be all set by then. If anything else happens before then, call me and I'll get you in as soon as possible," Dr. Connors said.

"Thank you so much," I said, getting up and Rachel hopped off the table.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem. I'll see you two in three weeks," the doctor said.

Rachel and I walked out of the building and back to my car. "So what did you think of her?" I asked.

"She's nice," Rachel said.

"Yes, I like her as well. She has been my doctor since last summer, when I got back. I was in her office every week for a few months, so she knows me quiet well. If you do not like her, we can always switch. She was just the easiest for today-" I started, but Rachel cut me off.

"Ziva, she's fine. Really. Don't get so worked up about it," she said and smiled at me.

"I have to confess, I have never been a parent, so this is not all easy for me," I told her.

"I'm still getting back into this too. My mom died five years ago, so I've pretty much been taking care of myself for a while. I guess we both have some adjustments to do," she said.

"I guess so," I agreed.

**A/N: So, what did you think? I know, it wasn't quite as exciting as other chapters have been, but it wasn't all boring. So, a few parts were a little hard for me to write, some things in here are more real to me than you might think, but none of this has happened to me personally. **

**Please review! Like I said before, I'll hopefully have another chapter up within a month! Tell me your favorite line/part/things you didn't like/things you think I should add/anything else! Even if it's just a word or two, tell me what you think! Thanks guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alright, guys, it's taken me forever, but I've finally written it! Sorry it took so long! Life has been hectic and I haven't had the time to sit down and write. Until today. I wrote all of this in about 5 hours, taking lots of breaks because my family kept interrupting me. But here you go! It's just under 8 pages and I'm kind of proud of it. Please review! I really love input and I'm open to ideas for future chapter! Thanks guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything else recognizable in this fic. I do, however, own this story line, Rachel and Max Shane, and anything else that is not on the show!**

O.o

"Good morning, Rachel," I said as Rachel appeared in the kitchen doorway. The two of us were early risers, so we would usually eat breakfast together after my morning runs. It was peaceful. The boys spelt in until the last possible minute.

"Morning," she greeted me. Like every morning, Rachel went right for the cabinet that held the cereal and took out a box, then reaching for the cabinet to the left of it to get a bowl, then walking over to the fridge to get the milk. It was the same routine every morning, just like my getting up to run before the sun came up.

"It is already nice out today," I told her. "I think it's going to be hot today."

"Yeah, the radio said it was going to be in the high seventies," she said. Rachel poured the milk into her cereal bowl, grabbed a spoon from the drawer and came to sit across from me. "Um, Ziva, can I ask you something?" she asked nervously, poking at her cereal and not looking at me.

"Of course. What is it?" I asked.

"Um, Max's birthday is next week and I was wondering if we could do something special for him. Not go all-out or anything, but I want to make this a nice birthday for him," she told me.

"Did you have anything in mind? You know him better than anyone. What do you think he would like to do?" I asked. Rachel's birthday wasn't until January, as I had learned at the doctor's office last week, but I had not known when Max's was. Tony's was in July and mine in November, so between the four of us, we would be celebrating at all different times of the year.

"I don't know, maybe just like a movie and dinner? He hasn't said much about what he wants. It's been a little…"

"Crazy," I finished for her. "That sounds like a nice idea. Maybe sometime this week you or I can find out what is playing and we can go see that and go out to dinner afterwards."

Rachel smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"Your brother is very lucky to have you as a sister," I told her. She just smiled. I heard a door open and footsteps walking down the hall. I looked at the clock on the stove, surprised that Tony was up so early on a Wednesday morning. It was only quarter past six and he normally was not up until at least 6:30 when he hit the snooze button on his alarm for an extra five minutes of sleep.

Rachel and Max were starting at their new schools today, both were in the school district of our apartment. It had been a week since the doctor's appointment and Rachel had been putting on the cream to make the bruises heal faster and it was doing wonders. Her abdomen looked much better than it had a week ago and she said she was not in too much pain.

We had kept them out of school just to get them back into the flow of living here again and, to be honest to myself, to make sure they were both alright. Max seemed a bit unfazed, possibly unaware of what happened. Or maybe he was just good at hiding it. I was not sure about Rachel. She was quiet, a little more reserved than she had been before. But she was tough, that's for sure.

"So, you ready to go back to school?" I asked her.

"Yeah. I just hope I'm not too far behind," she said.

"You will do fine. You only missed a week. You will catch right back up," I assured her.

"So are you bringing me or Tony?" she asked.

"We were both planning on bringing you, as your school starts before Max's, so Tony and I can go to both schools together. Unless you only want one of us, then we can split up," I said. Tony and I had talked about it last night and that was what we had come up with. We had informed Gibbs that we would be a little late, but he said it was for a good cause, so he would allow it.

"Oh, yeah that's fine. I just wasn't sure how it was all going to happen," she said.

"And the good news is, you only have about a month left of school and then you are out for the summer," I said.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Also, Tony and I have a lot of unused vacation days, as we have never really had the time to go on vacations before, so we may be able to find time to go away this summer." It was yet another thing Tony and I had talked about recently. It would not be anything extravagant like Disney World, but we would have fun as a family.

"That would be cool," Rachel said, smiling. "Dad never really had the time, he was always busy."

O.o

"Okay, everybody ready to go?" Tony asked as we were all standing by the door. There was a shuffle as everybody examined what they had with them. All four of us carried backpacks, though Tony's and mine were much more laden with things than Rachel's or Max's. When we had all nodded in agreement, Tony opened the door, he and the kids walked out, and I took up the back of the line, locking the apartment behind us.

When we got to the parking lot, Tony and Max headed for Tony's car and Rachel and I headed to mine. We were not sure what time we would be able to leave this afternoon and if Gibbs asked one of us to stay behind, the other one would need to get home somehow. It just made sense to take two cars. It was practical.

We met up at Rachel's school, Rachel and I having beaten Tony and Max because Tony drove far too slow. We walked into the main office, where they were expecting us, and the secretary sent us through to the principal's office.

"Good morning," the man in his mid forties greeted us as the four of us walked into his office. Mr. Jones, the principal, was a tall man, slim and dressed in a navy suit, not unlike Tony's, though Tony's was black and probably cost a little more. Tony was a clothes snob, and he embraced that detail about himself. The principal shook both our hands and then everyone took their seats, Max on Tony's lap and Rachel between Tony and me.

"Now, you're registering Rachel Shane for school. Freshman, right?" the man asked.

"Yes, sir," Tony said.

"Okay, there are some forms for you to sign, hold on," he said, leaning down behind his desk to get some papers. He emerged with several papers which he handed across the desk. Tony and I looked at each other, then I reached for the papers. I would be able to make more sense of them anyway.

"Just sign those and give them to the guidance office. You can sit right outside and then they'll help Rachel make a schedule and then you should be all set. Any questions?" he asked us.

"No, I think we're good," Tony said. We all stood up. "Thank you," Tony said, holding out his hand. Mr. Jones shook Tony's hand, then mine, and then we left.

When we left the office, Tony looked at me and said, "A man of few words, huh? Reminds me a bit of Gibbs."

"I did not see anything in him that reminded me of Gibbs," I told him.

O.o

While I filled out the paperwork, Tony set max up with a game on his phone and looked over my shoulder. Rachel was quiet once again, though it was early in the morning and I assumed she was still a bit tired, so it did not unnerve me too much. I had to ask Rachel a few of the questions that I did not know the answer to, but it did not take too long to finish. Tony and Max stayed in the front of the office while Rachel and I went to the guidance office to hand the papers in.

The secretary took them and looked at the name. "Alright, Rachel, your guidance councilor is Ms. Grant. Her office is right down the hall, second on the left, alright?" the secretary asked.

"Thank you," Rachel said.

The two of us walked down the hall and then knocked on the door that said 'Ms. Grant' on it. "Come in," we heard from inside the office, so I opened the door and walked in after Rachel. "Good morning," a woman in her later twenties greeted us. She was wearing a spring dress that was white and purple and she had a smile on her face as she greeted us.

"Good morning," I said back. "My name is Ziva David and I am registering Rachel for school," I told her.

"Okay, just give me a second to pull up her transcripts. Is the last name the same as yours?" Ms. Grant asked as she sat back down and turned to her computer.

"No, her last name is Shane," I told the woman.

"Alright. Here it is. Very impressive record," the woman commented. I snuck a peak at the screen. Rachel had no grades lower than a B in any of her classes.

"Wow," I said.

"You didn't know?" the guidance councilor asked, surprised.

"Rachel is not my biological daughter. My husband and I are just filing the adoption papers for Rachel and her brother," I told her. I still got a flutter in my stomach whenever I referred to Tony as my husband. It still seemed surreal.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You two just look so alike, I assumed…" Ms. Grant stuttered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel smile at the comment. I supposed we did look alike, Rachel had the same hair color as me, but Tony's eyes. Rachel was taller, like Tony, but had not yet outgrow me. We had the same hairline and a few similar facial features.

"It is alright," I told her.

"Okay, so I assume that you want to go into honors classes?" Ms. Grant asked, getting back to business. At my quizzical look, she explained, "Honors classes challenge the kids a bit more, they usually involve more reading and writing, or more speaking, with foreign languages classes. Rachel's grades definitely side with going into honors. Also, while you're here this morning, you should also make a schedule for next year. We get those done in March, or in August for incoming students, but you can do it now if you want," she offered.

"Okay," Rachel said.

For the next half hour, we discussed Rachel's schedule. She would be taking honors life science, honors American history 9, honors Spanish 2, honors algebra, honors English, honors Art 1, and a study hall period. Next year, she would have honors biology, honors English, honors Spanish 3, honors geometry, honors American history 10, honors Art 2, and accounting. They wanted every student to have a business class before graduating, so we had figured we would just get it out of the way next year.

O.o

When we walked out of the office, Rachel was holding her schedule, ready to go to second period Spanish, which started in about five minutes. The guidance councilor had told her where her classes were, as in which way to walk to them, and wished her good luck on her first day. We joined back up with Tony and Max in the front office, where we found them drawing pictures with the crayons from Max's backpack that we'd gotten him a few days ago.

"How'd it go?" Tony asked when he looked up and saw us standing there.

"Very well. Rachel has her schedule and is ready to go to class in a few minutes," I told him.

"You nervous?" Tony asked Rachel.

"A little," she admitted.

"You'll do just fine. And one of us will be here to pick you up at two, okay?" Tony said.

"Okay. I'll see you then," Rachel said. She walked over to Max who was still patiently coloring. The paper was full or bright colors, but I couldn't tell what he was making. "Hey, little man, be good today, okay?"

"Okay, Rach," Max said, not looking up from his picture.

"What, I don't get a hug?" Rachel asked, mock-annoyed.

Max laughed then put his crayons and paper down so that Rachel could hug him. He put his arms around her neck and she put his around his back.

"See you guys later," Rachel said and walked out of the office and down the hall.

"We should probably get going. This took longer than we thought it would," Tony said when Rachel was out of sight.

"Yes, we should," I said.

"She'll be fine, Zee," Tony assured me, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me a little closer to him.

"I know," I said.

O.o

"Do I _have_ to go to school? I want to go to work with you! Tim said he would let me play video games on his computer," Max said as we got out of the car at the elementary school.

"Sorry, Buddy, but you have to go. Maybe you can play games after school, if you're good, okay?" Tony bargained with the little boy.

"Promise?" Max asked him, a deadly serious look on his face as he started down Tony.

"Pinky promise," Tony said.

Max looked skeptical for a second, then said, "Okay!"

The three of us walked into the school after being buzzed in by the secretary. "Hi," Tony said when we walked into the main office, "we're here to register Maxwell Shane for school. His last school said that they transferred his records yesterday."

"Okay, well you want to go see Mr. Johnston, the vice principal, about that. His door is the first on the left down the hall," she said, indicating the small hallway behind her.

"Thank you," I said and Tony led the three of us down the hall and knocked on the door.

A male voice inside said, "Come in," and Tony opened the door.

Mr. Johnston was a man who was even taller than Tony and set more like Tony's father than Gibbs. He was a little younger then Gibbs with silvering hair and a clean-shaven face. He stood up as the three of us entered. "Good morning," he said and held his hand out to shake both Tony's and mine.

"Morning," both of us answered.

"So, you two are registering Mr. Shane for school?" he asked us.

"Yes. Did you get his transcripts from his last school?" I asked him.

"Yes. We have a class for him, we just need some paperwork filled out and he'll be all set," Mr. Johnston said. "Just give me one second and I'll get you the papers. You can fill them out and bring them back to me," he said, handing them to me.

We walked back out into the front office and I took my pen out from my bag and got to work. Max and Tony both went back to their pictures from before, not knowing how long we would be this time. I had to interrupt Max a few times to ask some questions I didn't know, and then I was done. There was less to be done for Max, so I was done in about ten minutes. I walked back to the vice principal's office to give him the paperwork.

I knocked on the door and opened it when I heard Mr. Johnston's, "Come in."

"Here are the papers," I said, stepping into the office and holding out the papers to him.

"Thank you, Mrs. David-DiNozzo," he said, pronouncing the 'David' like 'Day-vid' instead of 'Dah-veed'.

"It is Mrs. Dah-veed-DiNozzo," I said, correcting him, drawing out the David part.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maxwell will be very happy here, you and your husband have nothing to worry about," he said, coming out from around his desk, walking a little closer every few words. I matched his oncoming by backing up as he advanced forward.

"Thank you for that," I said.

"If you don't mind me saying it, you look stunning for a woman who has a seven year old boy," he said.

"He is not mine biologically. My husband and I are adopting him and his older sister. She is in high school," I said. He was still coming a little closer and I was still backing up a little more each time.

"Wow, that must be a lot to take on. The pressure must be enormous," he said.

"It is nice, having a family. You must know that," I said.

"Nope, I'm a bachelor for life. Never been married, no kids. How is married life? Have you ever cheated on him? Him on you?"

"We are very happy. No, neither of us has or will cheat," I told him.

"Well, if anything ever happens and you need someone, you know where to find me," he said.

It took all of my will-power not to let my jaw hit the floor. Then I got angry for him even thinking that I would dream of cheating on Tony, or him cheating on me. I put on my best poker face and said, "Can you just give me the name of Max's teacher?"

"Oh, um, yes, Max is going to be in Ms. Reed's class. She's the last classroom on the right of the first floor, left wing. Ms. Reed is expecting him," Johnston said.

"Thank you. Have a nice day," I said and left as quickly as possible.

When I got back out to Tony and Max, they looked up, but only Tony noticed that something was off. I did not let it show in my voice or on my face, though, as I told Max about his new class.

"Your new teacher's name is Ms. Reed. She sounds nice," I said.

"Yeah, let's get you there, cause you need to learn things and Ziva and I have to get to work, little buddy," Tony said, getting up and helping Max put the crayons and paper back in his bag.

We walked down to the classroom, said hello to Max's teacher, and left him with the class, telling him we'd be there to pick him up at 2:30 that afternoon.

O.o

Back in the parking lot, Tony stopped me before I got into my car to go to work.

"What happened in the vice principal's office? You came out upset," he said.

"The man was creepy! He kept walking closer to me while he talked and then he suggested that the two of us have an affair," I told him.

"Are you kidding me?" Tony asked. "I don't know whether to laugh or go in there and kill him."

"It is not funny, Tony. It was creepy," I told him.

"But to think that he thought he ever had a chance with you. Hell, I'm still thanking my lucky stars that you said yes," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling my chest up against his.

"You do not give yourself enough credit, ahavah," I told him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said and kissed me.

When we broke apart a little while later, I said, "We should probably be getting to work. Gibbs will be wondering where we are."

"I'll see you there, Sweet Cheeks," he said, opening my door for me with one hand while keeping the other around my waist.

"See you there, my Little Hairy Butt," I said, kissed him on the cheek, and got into the car.

He tapped on my window when I had started the car and I opened it. "I need a new nickname. Yours is cute. Mine isn't," he told me.

"Not likely to happen, my Little Furry Bear," I said, smiled, and drove off.

O.o

**A/N: Okay guys, what did you think? Review worthy? I really want some input on this! I also need ideas for future chapters, because I'm pretty much running out. Anything you have to say would be awesome! Thanks! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi, guys! So (finally), here's chapter 10! It took me a few weeks to write, as I have had to do it all at school because I have no other free time. It ended up being just over 5 pages and I'm pretty happy with it. And I'm happy with the fact that I have 2 days left of school, and then 4 days of finals, and then move-up day and then that's it! It's probably a combination of all of that. My sophomore year is almost over and I don't know if I could be more thrilled about that. So much has happened this year, both good and bad, and I'm just ready for the drama to end.**

**Okay, on with the reading! Please review guys! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything else recognizable in this fic. I do, however, own this story line, Rachel and Max Shane, and anything else that is not on the show!**

_**One more thing: this chapter is dedicated to my mom. She inspired some of this without even knowing. Thanks mom! I love you (even though I know you won't see this because you don't read my fics)!**_

O.o

"Okay, so we have everything all worked out?" Rachel asked, putting her pen down on top of a piece of paper covered with notes and reminders.

I ran a verbal checklist while Rachel checked things off as I went. "We have people, food, place, and time. Okay, that should do it. Now, we just have to figure out who will bring Max. It needs to be someone who will not let anything slide, but it cannot be Abby or me because we are setting up at her apartment," I said.

"First, it's 'slip', not 'slide'. And what about Tim? He could bring Max," Rachel suggested.

"Noted. And Tim could bring him. Good idea," I said.

"Great. Um, I'm having trouble figuring out what to get him. Which sucks because I'm his sister and I should know, but my mind is blank," she said.

"Tony and I were having a similar problem. We got him some new clothes and some books, but what kid wants that for a present? We were hoping that you would have some good ideas," I said.

We sat in silence for a little while. It was quiet tonight, with Max asleep in his room and Tony at work. Gibbs had called him in a few hours ago for something. Tony ran out the door, stopping to hug Rachel, kiss me, and promise that he would be back as soon as he could. Rachel and I were holed up in the living room, planning a surprise birthday party for Max. His birthday was in two weeks and we wanted to do something special for him.

We planned the party to be the day before his birthday, a Sunday afternoon, at Abby's apartment. Besides us, she had the biggest place. We would have planned for it to be at Gibbs' house, but since Abby and I were doing the cooking, we figured it would be easier to do at her place where things were more accessible. We were inviting the whole team, some of Tony's friends, and the kid's social worker, Ms. Tyler. For food, Abby and I were making Max's favorites: pizza, chicken fingers, and cheeseburgers. We figured it would be cheaper than ordering in, since we would have a good-sized crowd. It was also all easy to make. For cake, we were going to get an ice cream cake, because Rachel said that Max wasn't a huge cake fan.

When we'd finished finalizing everything, I looked at the clock that sat on top of a table in the corner. "Rachel, I think it is about time you go to bed. It is almost eleven," I told her.

She yawned. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired. See you in the morning."

We both got up and I hugged her, stroking her hair a few times, and then let her go. She closed her bedroom door behind her and a minute later her light was turned off. I returned to the kitchen, got myself a glass of water, and took it with me into the bedroom.

O.o

I was just starting to fall asleep when I heard footsteps in the hallway. They were heavy. A second later the door of the bedroom opened and I was just reaching for my gun, which was now secured in the bedside table because of the kids, when I noticed the familiarity of the figure. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tony," I said.

"Did I scare you, Zee?" he asked.

"A bit. I am sorry," I said, settling back on the bed.

He walked over to me. "Zee, it's okay. I don't blame you. I know you're still getting used to this, hell, I am too. Don't be sorry," he said, putting his hand on my cheek, pulling himself closer and kissing my forehead.

"You missed," I told him, smiling.

"I did, didn't I?" he said then put his lips on mine. "Forgive me?" he asked after he'd pulled away.

"There is no reason to. I missed you tonight," I admitted. That was the thing about Tony, he got me to say things that I always thought I would never say to anyone. And it did not feel forced, it felt natural.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Tony asked, assuming the worst because, though I did occasionally say these things, it was not a daily occurrence. For him to hear me say that I missed him, let's just say that I do not say it as much as I actually feel it.

"No, everything was fine. Rachel and I finished planning Max's surprise party," I told him. "I am just used to having you home at night. It feels odd when you are not here."

"Well let me get out of my work clothes and then I won't be going anywhere," he said, smiling. He kissed me again before going over to the dresser and grabbing a tee shirt and some sweatpants. He went into the bathroom and was back out a minute later, clad in his old college tee shirt and black sweats.

Instead of climbing onto what was dubbed his side of the bed, he stepped over me as he got in on my side and then rolled so that he was lying under me, my head resting on his chest. He studied me, his head propped on a pillow so that he could see me. "You look tired," he said.

"Long day," I said.

"Same," he said.

"What did Gibbs want?" I asked. He hadn't told me before he left and I wanted to know.

Tony shrugged it off. "Paperwork. Apparently I didn't get everything in that I needed to and blah blah blah I had to get it done," he said. "Crazy old man."

"He is just trying to make you a better agent," I told him.

"Yeah, well, I don't see why I couldn't have just done it tomorrow," he complained.

"Complaining about it will not change anything. Besides, now it is over and done and you will not have to worry about it tomorrow."

"Logic is meaningless to my brain. I would have much rather spent the night with you girls," he said, stroking my hair.

I smiled. "We would have liked to have you home as well."

O.o

The next morning was hectic. Somehow, we all over-slept, which is not something that happens often to me. I have to be out of the house by ten minutes to seven if I want to get both Rachel and Max to school on time, as I bring them both to school each morning. It gives Tony enough time to finish getting ready and get coffee for himself and tea for me on his way to work. Rachel is at school by ten past seven in the morning, Max by seven thirty. Tony and I usually show up at work around eight.

This morning, however, both Rachel and Max were late to school, and I was late for work. I hadn't dropped Rachel off until quarter past eight and I had walked Max into his school at a quarter to nine. Thanks to my driving skills, I walked into the Bull Pen at ten past nine, feeling extremely guilty. I was almost never late to work, and over-sleeping was a bad excuse.

I caught Gibbs walking by the elevator as the doors opened. "Gibbs," I called out, and he turned around.

"Morning," he said as he walked back to me.

"I am sorry about being so late. We all over-slept and-" I started, but Gibbs cut me off.

"Ziver, it's okay. Tony told me the whole story. You have kids, it's understandable," he told me.

"Over-sleeping is no excuse though. We set our alarms, we should have been up," I said.

"Ziva, I don't want to hear it. It's alright, stop apologizing. I know what kind of schedule you and DiNozzo are on. A little extra sleep isn't a bad thing," he said.

"Thank you, Gibbs."

"You don't need to thank me. You're a mother now, things happen, people over-sleep. It's not your fault," Gibbs said, then started walking again to our desks, ready to start the day with all of us here.

O.o

Gibbs got a call around ten. We had a case; dead Marine in Fairfax. Gibbs called Ducky on our way out and gave Tony the keys to the truck when we got out of the elevator, telling him to take McGee. I went with Gibbs.

The crime scene was about forty minutes away, but it took us close to an hour to get there because of traffic. Gibbs and I beat Tony and Tim by about ten minutes. When they showed up, Tony said they'd gotten stuck because of an accident and had to put the siren and lights on to get though. Gibbs said nothing, but walked over to the ME truck where Ducky and Jimmy were both getting out, Jimmy in the passenger seat, having been demoted from his driving duties.

We all walked in silence to the body. He was male, in his mid-twenties, dressed in his Class A uniform. Tim took his right index finger and put it on his scanner.

He had a name in less than a minute. "Lance Corporal Jacob Hernandez," he told Gibbs. "Lives in DC, home on leave. Why would he be dressed like this, though? I didn't think there was anything big going on."

"There isn't. Okay, family?" Gibbs asked, not taking his eyes off the body.

"He has a sister, she lives in DC too. Her name's Eva. Same address," he reported.

"Okay, Ziva- pictures, DiNozzo and McGee- bag and tag."

O.o

Half an hour later, we had finished everything. We found nothing out of the ordinary, besides the body, of course. There were no witnesses, we had gotten an anonymous call, but the person did not give us a name, nor were they here.

When we got back to the office, I brought the evidence down to Abby while Gibbs put McGee to work tracing the anonymous call. Stepping off the elevator on Abby's floor, I could hear her obnoxiously loud music. I still, after all these years of knowing her, did not understand how she could stand it being that loud.

"Abby!" I attempted to shout over the singer's voice, but I could barely hear myself speak. "Abby!" I shouted again, walking closer.

She heard me that time. She turned around and smiled at me, then reached for the remote that controlled the stereo. "Hi, Ziva!" she said, once we could hear again.

"Here is the evidence we collected at the crime scene," I said, handing the plastic bin to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking it and putting it on her table. "So, how are you doing?" she asked me.

"I am-" I started to say 'fine' when she stopped me.

"Ziva, if you say 'fine', you're lying. Abby's number one rule is 'Don't lie to Abby'. So, how are you really?" she asked me, reading me as though I was an open book.

"I am tired and worried about the kids and I feel horrible that I was late today and a million other things," I told her honestly. I knew she would probably tie me up in a corner and force me to tell her if I didn't just come out with it.

"You were late today? That's not like you," Abby said.

"None of us woke up at the right time. I did not even get my usual run in this morning. Everything is just off today," I said.

"I guess that comes with being a mom. Sometimes, there are just those days," she said.

"But those do not usually happen at our house. We have a set schedule that we always stick to. We get up, we get ready, and we leave at the same time every day. Otherwise, the house would fall apart, like it did this morning," I told her.

"Maybe a little chaos every now and then isn't such a bad thing," Abby said, a little slower than the way she usually talked, as though she was afraid to voice it aloud. She backtracked. "What I mean is, is that it's not horrible to stray from a schedule. Sometimes you need a little change."

"It is just difficult. Max moves very slowly in the mornings and it is hard to get him up and dressed and everything else. Rachel does what she can, but it is not solely her responsibility. And Tony is the worst; he stays in bed until the last possible moment and then he rushes around," I said. Abby's smile had gotten bigger and bigger as I kept talking. "What?" I asked her.

"You just sound… like a mom," she told me. "It's how my mom always used to be, trying to get my brother and I out the door every day. Of course, she would be signing, not talking, but it was always very close to that. But she was a little more relaxed than you. She always told me that life isn't a race to get somewhere and to stop and smell the flowers. I remember when my brother, Mikey, and I were little, whenever we were in the grocery store with my mom, she always stopped at the flower section and we would take a few minutes to smell them and pick our favorites. My favorites were always the roses and mom's were lilies." She smiled at the memories.

"My mother was also a bit more laid-back. She would always join the tea parties that Tali and I held. We would always get dressed up before having tea, wearing all of her pretty jewelry and dresses and everything. That would only be when my father was at work, as he did not approve of us doing that. He wanted to raise us as soldiers. The only thing that shortly stopped him was my mother. When she left when I was ten, I was given the joint duty of raising Tali and training for Mossad.

"I did not know then what I know now, but if I did, I do not know what I would have done. In some ways, Mossad get me to where I am now, here at NCIS, with people I consider my family, but it changed me. I do not feel like that little girl who used to have tea parties with her sister. I cannot channel that part of me anymore. And, sometimes, I feel like Tony would rather have that me, rather than the me I am now and I just…"

Abby pulled me in for a hug. "Ziva, of course Tony loves you for the way you are. If you two had met when you were kids, he probably would have loved you then too. That's the deal with soul mates; they love each other for who they are. Let me ask you a question, if the roles had been reversed, and he was the one brought up by Mossad and you were from here, would you still love him?"

I didn't have to think about that answer. "Yes," I said.

"There you go. I think you should be getting back upstairs. You have a murderer to catch and my favorite niece and nephew to pick up in a few hours."

O.o

**A/N: Okay, so what did you think? I know I'd said that I'd be updating more frequently, but my life thought it was funny to turn upside down on me and my teachers thought it was a riot giving me end of year projects and stuff. I have 4 days to study for 6 finals and I'm pretty nervous about a couple of them. **

**Again, please review guys! Tell me your favorite part/line/something that made you laugh/anything! Make me smile! Thanks!**


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